What does it take to build a small timber bridge that can carry 1000 lbs of weight? Six teams of structural engineering master’s students got to find out during the final weeks of their Advanced Timber Design course this quarter.
The new class, taught by Professor Alessandro Palermo, introduces master’s students to cutting-edge principles of cross-laminated timber design and construction. This material is increasingly popular in architecture and construction as an alternative to concrete and steel but not yet widely used in the United States.
The students conceptualized the design of their timber bridge, refined the details and then built the structure. After testing, they took the bridges apart and repurposed them for other uses. It’s the first time the class is offered to include construction and a friendly competition.
Six teams of students designed six bridges in four sessions of three hours each. Once completed, the bridges had to pass four different performance tests, including bearing 1000 lbs of weight, distributed among buckets full of sand. In the end, five of the six bridges successfully passed in all four tests. The sixth bridge couldn’t properly be tested in class conditions due to its arch design. Finally, students disassembled the bridges to turn them into bookshelves, standing desks and more.
Students also wrote a report analyzing their bridge’s performance, which they presented to classmates.
Palermo is already planning for a bigger competition next year which may go beyond UC San Diego to include other San Diego higher education institutions. “The students have been incredible—the energy, laughter and empathy shared today will remain in their and my memory for a long time,” he wrote.
The class was sponsored by Think Wood and Rothoblaas.