Week Ten to Presentation

After gathering all the remaining materials from Home Depot, Zakiya, John, Jason and I began to put the final pieces together and the Rion Antirrion bridge was formed. We started by measuring out the distance for each pylon so it evenly took up the space of the wooden platform. The next step, was to measuring the plastic pieces to fit through the individual pylons. After came the part that was most difficult, we needed to feed the string through the individual holes on the pylons and attached them equidistant to halfway through the length between each pylon. However, after it was all said and done the bridge looked pretty good!

John Cutting Plastic for Roads

Plastic added to Pylons

Tissue Paper Added

Strings Added

Then the during the week the presentations were worked on with the power points, and the final report was finished. All we had left to do was show up with the model and present what we had been working on these past few weeks. 

Week Nine Breakdown

Basically for the final working week, we just went over some simple issues with the design of the bridge, things such as the coloring that we were going to make the pillars for the presentation, and other different minor factors. Our original designs had the bridge colors being solid white, but we dabbled with the idea of it being all grey. John was in charge of this coloring, and he came up with a nice little white and light sky blue combo that really came out nicely. As for the cable system, we have the string that was brought in by Zakiya, and we are ready to start finishing this model, all we need is to get the base and the road. This weekend we really need to make it a priority to finish this thing off. We also have the final report, as well as the actual presentation to complete as well. These things will most likely will be finished up by Saturday at the Race Learning Terrace. As for right now here are the updated pillar pictures.

Grey or White?

Final Product

Week Eight Breakdown

This week was a relatively simple week, as a group we decided that we would split up the rest of the things that we needed for the design, and get them over the weekend. Many of us will be going home and so we decided to go ahead and divide up the responsibilities among the five us to get the remaining materials. We also discussed setting up times to meet up next week and put the rest of the structures together, and finish the final report.

Week Seven Breakdown

Week seven lab period we discussed the last leg of the term that we would be completing. We decided that we would meet up Monday afternoon and pick up the final materials that we need to finish the construction of the bridge. Then Monday afternoon at around seven we would gather and construct the final product, and we will finish the final presentation. We have decided this because next weekend a lot of us are leaving to go home for Memorial day weekend. We also tested the string that we would be using as the cable system for the bridge in lab. Although the string looks a little smaller than we would like, we concluded that with all the loops and holes we have in our three printed pylons that we would be able to use it because of the sheer amount we could use to support the platform.

Our draft for our final report was also handed into BBLearn as well as in class today. As for the final pieces that we will be picking up for the bridge, we decided on going to Home Depot, to pick up the final pieces to the puzzle. We are leaning towards balsa wood for the road, and Styrofoam for the base of the bridge to sit on. As for the attachment of the strings to the road we had a debate on whether we wood drill holes of tape the string to the wood. We have gone to the conclusion that we will tape the string to the bottom of the road and then place another piece of wood to the bottom over top of the tape to cover it up and make it look more professional. Another thing we are thinking about is spray painting the pylons to look more like the original design. The decision right now is to spray paint it a silver color, and that's where were at right now.

Week Six Breakdown:

During our week six lab get together, we were able to get the rest of our pieces for the bridge pylons together. We were able to construct the final three structures using the hot glue gun in class, and we had the basis of our bridge figured out and ready to build up from. Now we need to discuss the rest of the materials and finish building the separate pieces to make the Rion Antirrion Bridge look as good as we can get it to look. Also during lab we had a blog check and scored a 98% on it! Now we will be meeting tonight to finish up the final report draft. Time is flying!

Individual Pieces

One Constructed Pylon

Side View of Four Pylons

Front View

Background/FAQ/Tutorial

Background Information:
The official name of the Rion-Antirion bridge is the “Harilaos Trikoupis Bridge”, in honour of Harilaos Trikoupis, a 19th century Greek prime minister who was the first to suggest the idea of building a bridge between Rion and Antirion. The crossing is a 2252m long and 27.20m [1] wide cable stayed bridge with a suspended deck making it the world’s second longest cable stay bridge behind the Millau Viaduct. The bridge connects the Peloponnese to mainland Greece replacing a ferry crossing and so speeding up travel time from 45 minutes to an impressive 5 minutes. The Rion-Antirion bridge is has two lanes of traffic travelling in both directions, one emergency lane and access for pedestrians and cyclist. It currently has about 10,000 vehicles crossing over the bridge every day. The bridge was designed in 1992 by French consortium led by Vinci and Berdj Mikaelian as the lead architect, with construction starting in 1998 and was completed ahead of schedule in time for the Olympic torch to be carried across for the Athens Olympics in 2004 under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) scheme costing 750 million Euros. There were several difficulties the bridge had to overcome caused by the geology of region. The bridge spans across a tectonic plate boundary, so has to be able to withstand potential movements between piers of up to 2.5m [2] as well as earthquakes. In addition to this the soil quality is very poor, 80m of alluvial material with 60m of water above it.

[3] Night View of Rion Antirrion

FAQ:

What are changes that you plan on making to the design of the bridge?

We have been planning on building a more efficient design to the way the bridge detects seismic activity going underneath it. We have come up with an idea that has a seismometer attached to the support system of the bridge that can detect earthquake activity and help lead to a better quicker plan of action.

What are some things the original engineers had to deal with to get the bridge built?

The main things that the engineers dealt with in creating this bridge dealt with the foundation it was constructing on. The loose sediment and sandy area that the foundation blocks were built on were not \very sturdy and could lead to a lot of unwanted movement in the base. Another thing factored into the equation was the high wind area they were in. This lead to a lot of movement with the bridge and they had to keep into account this.

What is your model being constructed of?

We three dimensional printed the pylons as our first material. We plan on either using somewhat bendable plastic or wood to use as the platform for the road inter weaved within these four pylons, and the support and cable system is going to be made out of wire or string materials.   

Tutorial:

These are just a few picture of the designs of the pylons that were made using Creo, John created these:

Top of Pylon

Pylon Base

Full Pylon

References:

[1] Combault,Jacques. 2005. Rion-antirion bridge, Greece - Concept, design, and construction. Structural Engineering Internationa,l Vol. 15, Is. 1, pp. 22-26. 

[2] Hytiris,N. 2001. Rion-Antirion bridge, GreeceMeasuring a moving gap, Proceedings of the ICE - Civil Engineering, Vol. 144, Is. 4, pp. 166-170.

[3]Ice, John T. Rion Antirion Bridge By Night. Digital image. Take Earth Photography. N.p., 28 Nov. 2006. Web. 4 May 2015.

Week Five Breakdown

We received the 3-D printings of the pillars and the one that was printed looked really good as it appears below. The only problem with the whole process of the 3-D printing was that it took almost 23 hours to print this one piece. The main source of error is that although the material in between the pillars is non existent, the printer still needs to print material to hold the cables in place, and this is why it takes so long. So what we did was adjusted the angle that we printed it from, and we did it sideways. This allowed us to print the pillar in separate pieces, and then hot glue them into place.
Pictures below.

First Printing

Tilted View

Top View

Second Printing

From this point on we are waiting for the rest of the pillars and are discussing the materials that we intend to use for the cables that go through the wholes on top of the pillars. We also are talking about what the road will be constructed from. We have to find that happy medium between stability, and strength for what the road will be able to hold up, using the stringed material of choice. Progress is being seen, but we definitely have a long road ahead of us!

Overview of Project

During Engineering 103 Design Lab, groups were told to research famous landmarks and structures and choose one to observe from an engineering point of view. Then, from the research found on these structures we were told to create a model, and explain adjustments that we would make to make the structure more sound, and better from a futuristic point of view. Obviously, the reason why we researched the buildings and bridges that we did, was because of their famous constructions, and engineering principles behind them to make them so famous. The adjustments that would be made to these landmarks would need to be creative, and we would need to think outside of the box for certain changes.

As for our decision we went with the Rion Antirrion Bridge which is in Greece and connects the Greek to the Peloponnese between the Corinth Gulf and Patraikos Gulf. This grabbed us because of it's insanely interesting design of cable systems, and the length being the longest bridge ever. After being attracted by these qualities, the research process began, and we discovered some interesting engineering problems that went along with its construction. The bridge was built on loose sediment, and somewhat unstable foundation of loose sand as well. This along with the fact that is was built near a earthquake prone fault line, and it has to deal with high wind areas, was enough to make this bridge a masterpiece of engineering.

The beginning of the process for making adjustments was an idea given by group member Gautham. He suggested that we some how incorporate a seismometer to the cable system so that when any sign of seismic activity occurs, the bridge is already in good position to adjust to the movement of its components. I also suggested that we adjust the way the foundations were installed, but this idea hasn't really panned out that much. 

Biography of Members

This section creates a little background of the members that are designing this project. It includes bios on each member and provides a picture of them. 

Members:

Gautham Ravichandran

I am currently attending Drexel University and pursuing a chemical engineering degree. I am proficient with many computer aided design software such as Auto CAD and Inventor. I am also proficient with other similar software such as Creo. I have some experience working with shop tools. I also I have worked on various projects like the Rube Goldberg Module and the engineering bridge design project. My key role in both of these projects was being a researcher and analyzer.  I strongly emphasize teamwork because it is a vital part of proposing and designing an item. I also think that communication and organization both within and outside of a group is key to success for any engineering project.        

Guatham
Email: gr359@drexel.edu

Hugh Farley

Hugh Farley is currently in his Freshmen year here at Drexel University. He is studying Mechanical Engineering, and is in his third term at Drexel. Hugh is from Belvidere, New Jersey, and is a the second oldest of five children. He graduated from Belvidere High School where he was apart of Varsity Basketball and Vice President of Student Government. His contributions to this current project is updating the blog weekly as well as research and helping build the model of the Rion Antirrion. Hugh loves playing basketball, Frisbee, and hanging with friends, as well as eating food all the time! 

Hugh
Email: hff24@drexel.edu

Zakiya James

Zakiya James is currently a pre-junior studying Civil Engineering at Drexel University. She was born and raised in Washington DC and started her college education at the University of the District of Columbia where she spent her freshman and sophomore years. During the summer of her sophomore year Zakiya received acceptance to a research fellowship at Duke University where she completed extensive research on the Effects of Nanoceria on Microbial Growth and Function. After spending some time at Duke Zakiya decided it was time to transfer to a school that offered more research opportunities and hands on work. She later transferred to Drexel and is currently continuing her educational development there. After undergraduate Zakiya plans to continue on her education and work to get her PhD in structural engineering.

Zakiya
Email: zakiya.james@drexel.edu

John Dabrowski 

My name is John Dabrowski. I am 18 years old and I was born and raised in New Jersey. I am a freshman here at Drexel and my major is Mechanical Engineering. I have experience with programs such as Matlab, AutoCAD, and Creo. For this project, I am mainly responsible for creating a 3-D model of the bridge pylons, which will then be 3-D printed and used in our model representation.

John
Email: jd985@drexel.edu

Hancong Ge

From September 2001 to June 2007, Hancong studied at Yingkou Hongqi primary school. From September 2007 to June 2010, he studied at Yingkou First Junior High School. From September 2010 to June 2013, he studied in Yingkou Senior High school. From September 2013 to June 2014, he studied in Dalian Maritime University. From April 2015 , Hancong began to study at Drexel University.

Hancong
Email: hg334@drexel.edu

Technical Adviser:

Dr. Aspasia Zerva

Dr. Aspasia Zerva is a Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and an Affiliated Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. Before joining Drexel University in 1989, she was Assistant Professor at the City College of the City University of New York. She also held appointments as Visiting Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University, Visiting Associate (under an NSF Visiting Professorship POWRE award) in Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the California Institute of Technology, and Visiting Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Aristoteleion University in Thessaloniki, Greece. She also served as Program Director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Centers in the Division of Engineering Education and Centers, Directorate for Engineering, at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Professor Zerva received her Diploma with Honors from the Department of Civil Engineering at the Aristoteleion University in Thessaloniki, Greece, her M.Sc. from the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Ph.D. from the Department of Civil Engineering also from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Her research interests span the areas of Engineering Seismology, with emphasis on the analysis of seismic spatial strong motion array data, modeling of spatially variable seismic ground motions, and wave propagation techniques, Earthquake Engineering, including linear and nonlinear dynamic response of complex structures, finite and boundary element modeling, and inverse problems in dynamics/system identification, and Probabilistic Methods, including structural reliability, random vibrations, model updating, simulation techniques and signal processing.

Professor Zerva
Email: aspasia.zerva@drexel.edu

Week Four Breakdown

During week four we were informed that our surveys and teamwork assessments were due Friday and we started off the lab period doing these assessments and surveys. Then we spoke about the materials that we would be using for the construction of our model. The pillars are currently being 3D printed at this point so after they are ready and available for use, the rest of the materials can be put together and come together from that point on. As for the rest of the materials, we are going to need some sort of platform to put these things on. We also are going to need things for the platform of the bridge itself, and the strings that support the bridge from the pillars. For these materials and things that will be bonding them together like glue maybe tape, we are going to have to make a supply run out to the Home Depot. Then I realized from a blogger point of view that I needed to create to other sections, one being a background/tutorial/FAQ page for people that are trying to duplicate are process in the future. The other section is a biography section that includes little bios of each group member and the adviser with a picture. So these pages should be coming soon before the blog check next week!

Week Three Breakdown

During week three lab, we completed the Creo sketch of the four pillars that we were going to be 3-D printing. They were created in two different sizes, the first was a sketch of the middle two pillars that stood taller and bolder for support, and the next two were the smaller two which were towards the outer parts of the bridge towards the area of the land. A submission to print these four pillars was sent in today, and once we get these pillars it will lead to a constructing of our bridge.

We are still experimenting and brainstorming ways to improve the predictable failures, of the support systems that the bridge is hanging from using the predictable failure methods it was originally constructed from. We came up with a pretty good idea to somehow involve a seismometer to the bridge to account for earthquakes and high wind so that the predicted failure system can be more efficient and quicker. This is a tough task because the bridge was constructed so carefully and well engineered.

Another thing that we intend to change is the support system and how it was designed on a bedrock and gravel filled foundation. Obviously, the engineers constructing it accounted for that, but a way that we could improve it now would be use materials that are stronger and more sturdy than the foundations they used at the bottom of the pillars they used in there day. This second idea was much more general and still needs some refining but it is something to chew on while we start to see the construction of our model in the upcoming weeks.

Week Two Breakdown

During week two lab session we discussed certain changes that we thought about to the actual design of the Rion Antirrion Bridge. Some of the faults that we came up with for this already well-built engineering masterpiece consisted of the foundation that it was built on and in, and it's practical way of dealing with both high winds, and being in an earthquake region. The bridge's pillars were built in a loose sediment about 60-65m underground. We understand that this is a reasonable layer to build it on, but there has got to be better foundation to put these pillars to make the bridge safer and sturdier overall.

As for the way that the bridge itself compensates for the possible seismic activity, as well as the high winds, there is a system that the bridge has that could be help in a more efficient way.

The creation of the four pillars has been started on Creo as well.

Week One Breakdown

During week one our group was formed, and we chose to do our Engineering 103 design project on the Rio Antirrio Bridge, a bridge that connects the Greek and the Peloponnese between the Corinth Gulf and Patraikos Gulf. This bridge is 2,880 meters and consists of six lanes which are 27 meters in width. After deciding on this project we met outside of class to start brainstorming on our approach and figuring out our proposal for the week two.

Some of our main concerns came up with the decision on how to go about building our model. Another problem that we came upon is how we were going to build this bridge any differently or better than the original engineering masterpiece that it had previously been built as. Our conclusion is that we plan to 3D print the four pillars that the bridge consist of, build the road on these pillars using plastic tracks, and attaching string to from the top of the pillars to the bridge making a cable system. Obviously this is going to be easier said then done, but as of right now this is our plan of creation for our model.

As for the design proposal we created a Google document, and divided the parts of the proposal among the group members on Monday night.