Design Project:
Design of a Portable Residential Bridge
 

College of Engineering
Rowan University
201 Mullica Hill Road
Glassboro, NJ 0808-1701
Course Coordinator: Anthony Marchese

The hallmarks of the engineering program at Rowan University include multidisciplinary project-based learning, entrepreneurship and the incorporation of design projects at every level of the curriculum. Each of these hallmarks is addressed as you progress through the 8-semester engineering clinic sequence.

The two main goals of the Sophomore Engineering Clinic I (the third course in the sequence) are to provide the foundation necessary for students to become:

creative engineering designers, and

effective engineering communicators.

Accordingly, during the semester you will complete a semester-long design project.  As in all engineering design projects, written technical communication is an integrated throughout.  Specifically, completion of the semester design project will require a series of written technical communication deliverables.

The objective of this year's project is to design a portable/semi-permanent bridge for domestic use so that a homeowner can get across a typical backyard brook or stream with his or her riding lawn mower.  The bridge should be capable of spanning a typical backyard brook and should be able to support a pedestrian and his/her lawn mower.  The bridge will be marketed directly to the homeowner via a retail outlet (e.g. The Home Depot) and should be easy to assemble by the consumer and adaptable to various size spans.   The bridge must be also be aesthetically pleasing.

LOGISTICS

In the laboratory-2 session, Conceptual Design Teams (CDT) will be chosen.  Each team will have approximately 5 weeks to develop and document their conceptual and configuration designs.  The documentation will be in the form of a proposal as described below.   During the laboratory-7 sessions, three proposals will be chosen (two from the Monday lab, one from the Thursday lab) for full-scale prototype development.   At the end of the laboratory-7 session, students will be reassigned to a Product Development Team (PDT).  Each PDT team will have a specific task to complete in support of the full-scale product development effort.

Testing of the each of the full-scale prototypes will occur during the laboratory-14 sessions: Monday, December 11 and Thursday, December 14.  The same criteria used for evaluating the proposals will be used in the final evaluation of the bridges.  The bridges will be loaded with a loading frame (or other substitutes) and the amount of maximum deflection will be measured.

SPECIFICATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS

Size, length: TBA
Size, width: TBA
Weight: TBA
Load Bearing Capacity: TBA

Materials allowed:
Any suitable material that can be machined and/or assembled using facilities at Rowan Hall.  (Note: the final design can be a kit that requires the consumer to purchase "standard" lumber (e.g. 2x4's, ply-wood, PVC pipe, etc.).

PROPOSAL FORMAT

Three (3) copies of the proposal should be submitted to your writing instructor, according to the following instructions.
 

Proposals should be written in sufficient depth and breadth to allow assessment of the bridge.  The proposal is expected to range between 8 to 20 single-spaced pages.

Each proposal should be divided into the following sections:

A. Letter of Transmittal
A letter of transmittal must accompany the proposal.  The letter should be addressed to your writing instructor and should contain the project title and contact information for the corresponding author.

B. Cover Page
List the project title and each engineering student's contact information.

C. Executive Summary
A brief 300 word summary that highlights the unique aspects of the proposal must be included.

D. Background
1. Review related research and existing products that will perform similar functions.
2. Describe how the proposed project will advance Rowan Hallmarks and goals.
3. Perform market analysis for the product: how many homeowners have streams in their back yard, etc.?
4. Perform a patent search.
5. Discuss a variety of conceptual desings.
6. A multi-criteria assessment of consumers, costs, materials, and efficiency by using Pugh's method.

E. Methodology
1. Drawing(s) detailing the overall dimensions of the bridge and the dimensions of each individual element.
2. Written description on the bridge.
3. Description of the construction and assembly of the bridge and its components.

F. Required Budget for Full Scale Prototype Development
1. Complete estimate of the materials including the cost and quantity of materials.
2. Work schedule detailing the amount of person-hours and the type of work.

G. Qualifications of Design Team
Each investigator should attach hers/his resume.  Highlight skills and previous experience that may be relevant to the project.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The final decisions will be made jointly by a team of reviewers composed of experts in several fields of engineering, engineering communications, and peer reviewers.

The proposals will be evaluated with respect to the following criteria as well as others which will be determined by the class as a whole.

Rhetoric

The written proposals will be evaluated based on clarity, appropriate tone, format and organization, mechanical correctness, development and use of detail.

Aesthetics

The proposed bridge will be situated in a residential area.  Therefore this bridge cannot detract from existing landscape and architecture.  Aesthetic factors that may be considered include the general appearance, balance and proportion of design, elegance, finish, and construction.

Ease of Assembly

The requirements for the construction or assembly affect the marketability of the product.  A bridge that can be easily built or assembled is more desirable than one that is not.

Deflection

The proposal should estimate the maximum deflection expected from the bridge based on the type of material and the design.

Economy:  Full Scale Prototype and Final Product

The cost of manufacturing the bridge must be kept low.  The budget in the proposal should include cost estimates that are based on realistic figures.  Supporting documents such as catalogues, vendor quotes, etc… should be included.  The reliability of the budget will suffer if it is not supported by proper documentation.

Flexibility

The robustness of engineering systems concerns itself with the ease of adapting a system to different environments and applications.  Therefore a flexible bridge will be able to accommodate different crossing widths and loads.

Portability

This includes the weight and physical size of the bridge elements.  The weight of the bridge affects both the portability and the cost of the bridge.  A light bridge is always more preferable than a heavy bridge all other factors being equal.    The bridge structure should be disassembled, folded, or reduced in dimensions for transportation purposes.

Overall Performance

The overall performance rating of the proposal is determined by adding the ranks of the bridge in the aforementioned areas.  The three proposals with the highest scores will be selected for implementation.

Life Cycle

What is the cost of maintenance of the bridge once it is in the field?  How long will the bridge last in the field?

Last updated: September 26, 2000