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Building Houses (Smart Arch, Truss & Beam Bridge Load Tester)

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Construct 3 bridge structures (Beam Bridge, Arch Bridge, Triangular Truss Bridge) out of craft sticks. Test breaking load capacity using a bucket suspended from an HX711 strain gauge load cell force scale.

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Props & Materials Required

  • •Craft sticks & hot glue / straw connectors
  • •Bridge testing stand frame
  • •5kg HX711 strain gauge load cell scale
  • •Weight bucket with metal weights / sand
  • •ESP32 controller board
  • •0.96-inch OLED display screen

Step-by-Step Instructions

1

Build 3 Bridge Types

Construct a flat Beam bridge, a curved Arch bridge, and a Triangular Truss bridge using craft sticks.

2

Mount Beam Bridge on Test Stand

Span the Beam bridge across the gap. Suspend the weight bucket from its center.

3

Add Weights & Read Strain Gauge

Add weights into the bucket. OLED display shows live load force: '500g... 800g... BEND!' Beam bridge breaks at 900g.

4

Test Triangular Truss Bridge

Test the Truss bridge! Triangles distribute weight across all struts. Load cell reads '3200g (3.2 kg)!' — 3x stronger!

Why It Works & Notes

Different buildings and bridges use different materials and structural shapes. Testing how much weight a flat Beam bridge holds vs. a Triangular Truss bridge proves why triangles are the strongest structural shape in civil engineering.