Truss bridge (Spaghettis)

maya
Jun 11, 2020
2 min read

Which project you did?

Research the different kinds of Truss bridges that exist. Design and build your own truss bridge out of materials that you have available. (popsicle sticks, spaghetti, straws, lego, etc.) Test your bridge and determine the maximum weight that it can hold.

This week I have decided to build a Truss bridge.

I didn't really know what a Truss bridge is, so I searched the internet for different models and took a look (because there are also different patterns)

After having an idea what exactly a Truss bridge is, I decided to build the pattern "Warren".

Then I thought about the kind of material I would like to use to build it. I decided to use spaghettis. I could not really imagine that spaghettis would work, because they are so easy to break. So I really wanted to try it out how much weight they can hold.

First I made a sketch again and then I started building.

First I tried to put it together with mini marshmallows, but unfortunately that did not work at all and I decided to use tape.

When the bridge was finished, I tested together with my little host sister how much weight this bridge can withstand. It really amazed me and her. The bridge can really take a lot of weight. Our weights were stones and we could not make the bridge collapse, because too many stones were already on the bridge and did not fit on it. The bottom of the bridge might have bent down a little bit, but not much. I also put some spaghettis under the bottom of the bridge to make the floor more stable. I think that was a very good idea.

What you learned by doing it?

I have learned in any case that if you glue spaghettis together they can hold a lot of weight. I have learned that tape works very well to glue them together and in general what a truss bridge is.

I tried again different things to build this bridge and in the end this version worked best for me - from the amount of spaghetti.