Question: 3/7/2002
Where can we get assistance to help off-set some of the cost of materials for our bridge?
Answer:
In the past, many teams have been successful in getting materials donated by local building materials or wood products retailers. Some local state organizations (i.e. in Mississippi, MS Lumber Manufacturers Assn.) have provided funds to individual chapters. There are several links on our website to national wood products and treatment associations (see menu at bottom of opening screen for Competition; also see "Testimonial" by VA Tech team of 2000). Specifically, Mel Pine, Communications Director, American Wood Preservers Institute, has indicated he would foward email requests for assistance on to their members. Email him at mpine@awpi.org.

Question: 3/7/2002
We would like clarification on the abutments that will hold the bridge during loading. Are we allowed to build abutments that not only support the bridge from the vertical load but also support the bridge laterally along the length of the bridge?
Answer:
Rules require each end of bridge to rest freely on bearing or base plates with maximum width of 60mm. The base plates (abutments) may provide vertical support only. Actually, ASTM standards would require "bearing plates to be supported by either rollers and a fixed knife edge reaction or a rocker type knife edge reaction so that shortening and rotation of the bridge beams due to deflection would be unrestricted". This competition does not go to that extent in an effort to keep it simple, but the intent is obvious.

Question: 8/26/2002
Is it permissible to have a non-plane surface on the bridge deck? Is it permissible to have an arched roadway? If yes, what is the maximum crown allowed?
Answer:
No, the bridge deck must be a plane surface. Some degree of camber (maximum of 15 mm) is allowed in longitudinal stringers if desired.

Question: 8/26/2002
Is plywood allowed for the bridge deck?
Answer:
No. Plywood, even when treated, cannot "withstand repetitive traffic loading" and will not "work in real-lie application". As it wears, it tends to delaminate. Note that deck does not have to be wood. We would like to see more innovation here!

Question: 10/6/2003
Some universities are on a quarter system and teach the wood engineering design courses only in the Spring. The late March/early April deadline for entry prevents these schools from entering. Can anything be done to accommodate these schools?
Answer:
Beginning with 2005 competition we will begin rotating between 2 sets of Rules (the 2003 and 2004 Rules). The 2005 Competition will follow the 2003 Rules (permanently posted online as a link in the Results Table). Then, the 2006 Competition will follow the 2004 Rules, etc. In other words, schools wishing to enter the Competition as part of a Spring 2004 class project can use the 2003 Rules and enter their entry in the 2005 Competition. Only problem is that they will have to wait until May 2005 to hear Results. Until further notice, we will follow this rotation, with odd-numbered years using the 2003 Rules and even-numbered years using 2004 Rules.

Question: 11/4/2003
How are composite materials (i.e. wood/plastic fiber decking) counted towards the weight requirements?
Answer:
If specifications can be obtained from the materialŽs manufacturer and be sent in with the final entry (mailed or emailed) that provides the percentage of wood in the finished product by weight, then you must count the remaining percentage as nonwood. If manufacturerŽs specifications are not available, you must count the entire composite weight as nonwood.

Question: 11/4/2003
It is stated in the rules that non-wood components of the bridge cannot exceed 25% of the total weight. Would that include the weight of the glue in composite wood members?
Answer:
Any glue used by contestants in the bridge fabrication process should be counted as nonwood (See Rules: Report - item 3). Any glue contained in a prefab component (purchased or donated) would have to be considered wood since I doubt if any materials specifications indicate the weight of glue in the finished product per linear foot, etc.

Question: 11/4/2003
Are "pre-fabricated" built-up members allowed to exceed 3 meters?
Answer:
No members are allowed to exceed 3 meters; that includes individual pieces used in constructing a composite member and any prefab purchased/donated member. In other words, you cannot purchase an I-beam, glulam member, etc. to span the full bridge span!

Question: 1/23/2004
I was looking at the rules for the 2004 competition and saw that universities on quarter system can use rules from 2003 to participate in the competition. I am glad that you are accommodating these schools, but I am just curious as to why canŽt they use 2004 rules? Also, I am not sure announcing results after a year for these schools would be very exciting for students participating in the competition. This is because most students are excited about finding results as soon as they can, and in most cases, they wonŽt be around the next year to enjoy, in case they win!
Answer:
We make it a policy to change the rules every year for a reason; usually this change is simply in the dimensions of the bridge. Schools on the quarter system that want to make this a Spring 2004 project will actually be competing with the other "semester" schools in the 2005 competition. Because of this change we have made the decision that from here on we will be using only 2 sets of rules, the 2003 rules for odd numbered years and 2004 rules for even numbered years. The 2005 rules will be the same as they were in 2003. This is the only way we could figure out to change the rules each year and still give the Spring Quarter schools an idea of what the next yearŽs rules would be. We acknowledge that the waiting until the following May for a Spring Quarter contestant to find out how they did is a long time. But the year we extended the competition year (2003) to July from the standard May, we experienced a significant decrease (>50%) in the number of entries. Of course, we really donŽt know if the extended deadline was the reason, but it was the only significant change we made from past years.

Question: 2/4/2004
Maximum length of any member is stated to be 3.0 meters under "Design Span" and 2.1 under "Bridge Deck"! Is this an error?
Answer:
Yes, maximum length in all cases should be 3.0 meters! It was 2.1 in past years and we failed to make all the changes.

Question: 2/20/2004
We have gone to ONLINE ENTRY and entered our basic information on page 1 only, then later we cannot get back in to finish our ONLINE ENTRY. What is the problem?
Answer:
When making your first visit to ONLINE ENTRY, you must click NEW ENTRY, enter PASSWORD, click ASSIGN PASSWORD. You will then get a message: Welcome Applicant, your ID is #, Your password is _______. Click GO TO DATA ENTRY PAGE, enter UNIVERSITY NAME as a minimum, then you must go to the end of the ONLINE ENTRY by clicking GO TO PAGE 2, etc. at the bottom left all the way through to either page 9 or page 10 (last page). There at bottom of page 9 or 10, click BACK TO SITE and your entry is saved. DonŽt forget your entry # or password! If you continue to have problems, call Bennie Hutchins at 601-833-5539 or email southwest@msrcd.org

Question: 2/27/2004
An earlier Q/A response indicates that plywood is not allowed for the bridge deck. What if the plywood is protected by an acceptable treatment to address the "wear and weather" issue?
Answer:
If you address the issue of plywoodŽs problem with not being able to tolerate repetitive loading and surface wear without delaminating by the application of a protective surface, you will not be disqualified, but I cannot answer how the judges will respond to the solution you propose. Depends on the job you do in "selling" your solution, such as how durable is your solution and how wear-resistant it is; would it be practical and economical in real-life application (for an actual road bridge)? You may get extra points for innovation and you may get negative points for use of plywood. ItŽs hard to predict!

Question: 3/1/2004
In the Online Entry, Page 4, Table of Test Results, the columns and the column headings are all out of alignment. This is confusing! Can it be fixed?
Answer:
The Table will appear correctly if the Online Entry is accessed using Netscape. When using Internet Explorer, the visual problem pops up, but the entries can be made anyway...yes, it is confusing and we well try to fix it.

Question: 3/31/2004
We are not very clear on your requirement for the base plate. The rules state a maximum width of 60 mm for the base plate. IŽm not sure which direction that is. Could you please clearly explain to me this requirement?
Answer:
Each end of the bridge will be supported by a base plate during testing. This base plate, or support or "bridge cap" if you wish, cannot extend more than 60 mm underneath the bridge measuring from the end of the bridge toward the center of the bridge. Actually the plate can be more than 60 mm wide, but no more than 60 mm of it are allowed to be supporting the bridge. If you really wanted to get technical and comply to accepted testing standards, the support should actually be a round bar free to roll as bridge flexes under load, i.e. contributes no resistance or friction...but we donŽt go that far on our Rules.

Question: 4/10/2006

Answer:

Question: 10/8/2006

Answer:

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