@Moddaw,
Moddaw wrote:
1, what materials would be used to build the following
a)An information center on a nature reserve
b)A road for heavy duty vehicles
c)A long span building
d) Factories for canned food
Ditto: Duct tape, chewing gum, and bailing wire..
Think of every building being a reaction to the forces of nature, Gravity, wind, snow, and in earthquake zones: Acceleration... I love that one... Structures must be both strong and flexible... Consider the amont railroad rails might expand in the sun, or contract in the cold and still hold together... On a hot day I have seen highway explode under the wheels of heavy loaded trucks... And informations center on a nature reserve should be made of recycled plastic to appeal to the tree huggers and eco-nazis, of which I am proud to associate... A heavy duty road must be built primarily of re-enforced concrete, and lots of it, with lots of underfil, of gravel or crushed concrete for drainage... Consider that the Roman roads in England became the base of their rail lines, and you will see my point... They had trouble with curves, but they built to last...
A long span building and a factory for canned food might both require a truss design... The flow through terminal at Buick City in Flint, where I very nearly lost my life was long span Butler Building, and what we used to call a tin building design, but it did have two colums for each carrying beam... Many stadiums are long deep trusses with the roof supported by deep bar joist...