Destructible Bridge Members Because the standard blue I-beams are so strong, it requires too much weight to break them. To investigate structural failure, we have created a bridge member that is weaker, and has a fail-safe mechanism so the bridge will not catastrophically collapse. In addition, you can measure the tension and the displacement during the failure. The black metal plate of the Destructible Bridge Fixture allows the Breakable Link to stretch and fail but keeps the bridge from falling down completely. Destructible Bridge Fixture. As each weight is added, the stretch of the Breakable Link is measured with the Displacement Sensor and the tension in the member is measured with the Load Cell. The tension decreases when the link is in the final stage of failure.
The Destructible Bridge Fixture is reusable. A broken link can be easily replaced with a new one by simply sliding it onto the posts. A tensile stress tester can be constructed from the Advanced Structure Set. Using a 100 N Load Cell and the Displacement Sensor, Young's Modulus for the material can be determined.