ENVS10003 Constructing Environments Log Book Interim Submission Sem 1

CONSTRUCTING ENVIONRMENTS Log Book

YOUNG WOOK CHANG 636166 SEM 1, 2014

CONSTRUCTING ENVIONRMENTS

WEEK ONE_COMPRESSION Figure 1.1 Blocks were place with a gap in the middle, so one block would be placed on top of two blocks to minimise the use of material and to spread the force around the structure- similar to how bricks are placed on exterior of buildings.

Figure 1.2 Space was deliberately left in the front to make the doorway later on. So is the problem where the tower was getting narrower as it got taller. So blocks had to be placed tightly without a consitant gap in between the blocks in attempt to build hight around the sturcture.

Figure 1.3 Too much blocks were placed in the frontal part of the structure- both left and right wing. In a result, too much load was being placed at the front. As seen in the photo, there is a huge difference in the placement of blocks in different parts of the structure.

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2

Figure 1.3

Figure 1.4

Figure 1.4 To create a arch shaped doorway, blocks were closely stacked on each other. It was noticed that as more blocks were placed at the top of the arch, the structure was becoming more stable rather than becoming more unstable.

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CONSTRUCTING ENVIONRMENTS

WEEK ONE_COMPRESSION Figure 5 More blocks were placed and the tower gradually become more higher. Though we saw that the tower was leaning towards the side where the arch was. If the placement of the block was consistant, forming a cylinder shape, it may have not leaned as the whole structure would be more balanced.

Figure 6 To test the stability of tower, mutiple blocks were take out from the centre of rear part of the tower. The structure it self did not collapse, but the tower started to lean even fruther towards the front like the Tower of Piza. This shows that the more load is being transferred towards the front.

Figure 7 The diagram represents the load part, how loads in the structure would be transferred through to the ground, where it meets reaction force that is equal and oppotite to the load.

Live load was applied by pushing the structure with finger to check the stability of the structure and to see whether it can hold foreign weither other than its own structure.

Figure 1.5

Figure 1.6

Figure 1.7

Figure 1.8

Figure 8 The diagram then represents the load path of the arch of the structure. Load is transferred from the centre of the arch then it travels to the right and left thourhg to the ground.

Some load is being transferred to the surrounding blocks.

Also the loads are spread widely through the arch structure, which helps to stabilise the structure without collapsing.

Possible Improvements: - First build a cylinder shaped structure with all ends closed.

-Then take out blocks from the centre of the tower to the bottom to create a doorway.( We saw that the tower did not collapse as seen in Figure 1.6) - Attempt to build a structure with closed roof and see if existence of a roof makes a difference.

The material Material called the mdf (medium density fibreboard) was used to create this structure. It is relatively hard but can be scratched with metallic object. The surface is smooth and flat, which enables stacking.

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CONSTRUCTING ENVIONRMENTS

WEEK ONE_KNOWLEDGE MAP

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CONSTRUCTING ENVIONRMENTS

WEEK TWO_FRAME

Figure 2.1 Inspired by the Eifel Tower and Indian teepees, a structure was created by using the skeletal structure system. It is know to be efficient and transfers load to the ground. Thus from thin wooden sticks were used to create four legs that support the structure.

Figure 2.2 A tape- live load was placed on top of the structure. The structure managed to take the live load without collapsing.

Series of arrows were drawn (Figure 2.2.1) to represent the frames of the structure. The first layer on the bottom (in blue), the sticks were crossing over; resembling a shape of a teepee. However in the second layer (in red), the sticks were not crossing over. Thus the structure was not balanced and was leaning to one side.

Figure 2.3 When the another layer was add on top of the second layer, the structure was leaning over to the left even more. This shows that the load was not distributed evenly to the bottom of the structure. When the tape was put on the top of the tower, it collapsed.

Figure 2.1

Figure 2.2 Figure 2.2.1

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Figure 2.3

CONSTRUCTING ENVIONRMENTS

WEEK TWO_FRAME

Figure 2.4 By crossing over the sticks we tried to create a fixed joint through out the structure, in attempt to distribute load through the structure evenly. But it was difficult to balance the structure straight because the balsa wood strips were not evenly cut and there were slight differences in length as well.

Figure 2.5 To fix the joints, super glue was applied with tapes wraped around the sticks. However, the sticks were not tightly held together and this allowed some movement which also contriuted to the tower not being balanced. Such alternative as masking tape or glue gun would have provided much stronger hold.

Figure 2.6 Long strips of tape was used to balance the tower straight.

It was to mimic how truss system works. Although it did help the tower to straighten up, when loaded with tape at the top, it did not provide extra support.

Figure 2.4

Figure 2.5

Truss system in the diagram in figure 2.7, it uses a wire to stop the movement of a structure when it has been loaded, using the force tension.

Possible Improvements: - Try building the structure using other structural systems and shapes.

-Cut the balsa woods evenly in same length and width so the load is transferred evenly through out the structure.

-Use other materials like a glue gun to hold the balsawoods together for increased stability.

The material Balsa wood is a light and fast growing tree ("Interesting facts about balsa wood", 1995). It was easy to cut the wood vertically but noticed that it would snap if cut horizontally.

Figure 2.7

Figure 2.6

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CONSTRUCTING ENVIONRMENTS

WEEK ONE_KNOWLEDGE MAP

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CONSTRUCTING ENVIONRMENTS

WEEK TWO_GLOSSARY Week One

Load Path- Diagram to represent how load is transferred in a structural system Masonary- Buildings with units of various natural or manufacture products. Usually with the use of mortars as a bonding agent ("Common construction terms", 2002).

Compression- A force that is opposite to tension. Occurs when a structure is stretched Reaction Force- Equal and opposite to applied load Point Load- concentrated load on a structural member ("Point load", n.d.)

Beam- A horizontal load-bearing structural member. ("Common construction terms", 2002).

Week Two Structural Joint- A point where strcutural members are joined together.

Stability- Is when the load and the oppostie reaction forces are equal.

Bracing- A member, usually a diagonal, which resists lateral loads and/or movements of a structure. ("Common construction terms", 2002).

Tension- A force that stretches and elongates the matreial Frame- The skeleton of a structure.

Column- Free standing vertical load bearing member ("Common construction terms", 2002).

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WEEK ONE_REFERENCES Ching, Frank. (2008). Building construction illustrated (4th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Common construction terms. (2002). Retrieved from http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/construction/glossary/3246/common_terms.htm#S Interesting facts about balsa wood. (1995). Retrieved from http://www.mat.uc.pt/~pedro/ncientificos/artigos/techbal.html Point load. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2014, from DictionaryOfConstruction.com

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