Northern Arizona University
2021 Steel Bridge Capstone Team

Existing Connection Designs

Below are the connections that were designed for this bridge by the previous team. These connections were designed with the AISC competition in mind, and are focused on cutting down the overall assembly time of the entire bridge. Our team analyzed these connections to determine how much load the overall bridge would theoretically hold with these in place. These connections were the main focus for improvement on this bridge, and were redesigned with steel design principles in mind and in order to increase the bridge capacity.  

Updated Connection Designs

Below are the connections that were designed for this project. These connections use steel design principles to improve the overall capacity of the bridge.The new connection designs were subject to a revision process in which the overall design feasibility and manufacturability were both considered. The strength of the revision 1 connections were calculated to be much much higher than the existing connections. However, it was also determined that the cost of manufacturing them would be very high and time consuming. The revision 2 connections simplify the revision 1 connections into a three-plate design which interlocks due to protruding tabs. Welds were placed between the tabs to fix the plates together. This design brought the cost of manufacturing and materials down significantly. Although it also brought the overall strength down for connections A and B due to the significant decrease in cross sectional area, the strength was maintained in connections C and D which would experience the most loading. With these designs, the strength is focused in the most critical areas of the bridge.

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• Last Updated 4.27.2021