Model Bridge is educational software that helps junior high, high school, and college students understand the behavior of pin-truss bridges. Students can build their own bridges, test them and run bridge-building competitions. Students learn how to optimize their bridge design and improve the strength of their bridge while staying within material constraints.
Bridge Building
The above picture is a sample of the bridge building screen. This is one of the simplest bridges that you can build using Model Bridge. Bridges are constructed using pins and members. As shown in the screen above, members can be reinforced. This is indicated by the numbers in the middle of the members. However, as in real life, there are limits on such things as the maximum length and strength of a member, the total weight of the bridge, how high a bridge may be built, etc. Model Bridge comes with a standard set of restrictions, and also lets you make up your own set of restrictions.
Bridge Testing
The above picture shows the results of force being applied to the bridge. The maximum force that the bridge was able to withstand before collapsing is shown as "Fr" on the right stanchion. The bridge itself shows, by using different colors, how the force affected each member of the bridge. Compression (pushing on a member) is shown in red and tension (pulling on a member) is shown in blue. The members that show a deeper color are closest to breaking. Members that remain gray are being affected little or not at all by the force being applied to the bridge.
Features
Easy-to-use
The Model Bridge interface is user-friendly, intuitive and Windows based.
Usable for Competitions
Model Bridge allows you to set up automated competitions (even on non-networked computers) between friends, students, classes or even other schools.
Customizable
Material strengths, height of bridge, weight limit and critical length are all customizable.
Adaptable for Home or Classroom Use
Model Bridge is available both for individual use and as a classroom "lab pack." It comes with a 25 page illustrated user's guide as well as convenient on-line help. Teachers will also receive a 25-page lesson plan with suggested labs and exercises.
System Requirements
The minimum requirements to run Model Bridge are:
IBM-compatible computer (386 or better) *
Supported: Win 3.1, Win 95, Win 98, Win 2000 amd Win NT
Unsupported: Win XP
VGA monitor
2 MB of hard drive space
8 MB of RAM
high-density floppy diskette drive
* We are trying to determine if there is enough interest in a Macintosh version of Model Bridge.
If you are interested, please email us at
info@SoftwareInventions.com
with the following information:
whether or not you would like to be notified if a Macintosh version becomes available
what version of the Macintosh operating system you are using
Disclaimer
Please note: Model Bridge is NOT an engineering design program, and must NOT be used for the design or analysis of real bridges or other structures. It is a simplified model of bridge design for educational purposes only. It is not suitable for safety-critical purposes.
