We learnt that engineering failures usually happen because a lot of small issues build up instead of one big mistake. When looking at the Tacoma Narrows bridge, we saw how something as normal as wind could cause a collapse just because it matched the bridge’s natural frequency. From Grenfell, we learnt how important proper materials and safety checks are, and how quickly things can go wrong when they aren’t done properly. Overall, we learnt how engineers need to think ahead, test things properly, and understand how different forces affect a structure. Doing this project also showed us how using models makes complicated ideas easier to understand, because seeing it physically helps explain the problem more clearly.
What We Did as a Whole
As a group, we combined research, model building, and explanations to show how these engineering failures happened. Will worked on building the three models so the audience could see the scale and the physics behind each event. Sankeeth focused on collecting the data we needed, like reports, diagrams, and photos, so everything we explained was accurate. I worked on the write‑ups and helped link the models to the engineering principles behind them. Together, we used the models and the information we found to explain what went wrong in each case and why it mattered. The project helped us understand the events properly and present them in a way that was simple but still detailed enough to show the engineering behind it.
The Models in More Depth
To show this we used 3 models. The first model was bridge built to replicate the Tacoma narrows bridge, with long suspension cables. This was a visual representation to show the scale and impressiveness of the design even though it is from over 80 years ago. It also helped to show what went wrong.. The second model was designed to simplify the physics behind why the bridge collapsed so magnificently. It is a resonance vibrator test which explains how the only 35 miles per hour winds at the time enabled the bridge’s swaying to amplify so greatly. This ultimately led to the bridge’s collapse. The final model displayed the size of the Grenfell tower and where the fire spread from and to. It helped the audience to visualize the significance of the fire and how quickly it spread. This then helped to explain why the issues with the building were so damaging and how easily this catastrophe could have been stopped.
- Will and Sankeeth