How can you make a sheet of paper into a rigid structure?
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, the student will be able to describe and sketch a thin-walled structure.
Standards
- NGSS HS-ETS1-2
- CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1
- CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4
Supplies
- Paper
- Tape
- BLIMP hulls
- Helium
What is a Thin-Walled Structure?
Grab a sheet of paper and wiggle it. The paper isn’t very rigid is it? Now roll it over on itself and tape the seam. You just made a thin-walled structure, much like an airplane or submarine hull!
Get one of your BLIMP hulls. How strong is it? Can you bend it, twist it, etc? Of course you can. Now fill it with helium. It’s stronger now, right? Thin-walled structures, like your BLIMP appear in all sorts of engineering applications. Airplanes, submarines, fuel tanks – these are all thin-walled structures. One can do all sorts of clever things by combining thin-walled structures with other structural elements like beams and trusses. If you look deeper at an airframe, submarine hull, or fuel tank you will see that it is not solely its exterior shell that supports the structure, but a combination of structural members that all work together to make a structure that can resist bending, torsion, and all the loads that the structure is expected to carry. Check out the Goodyear Blimp’s “How It’s Made” website at https://www.goodyearblimp.com/behind-the-scenes/blimp-science.html, watch the video, and read through their descriptions of non-rigid, semi-rigid, and rigid airships.
Modeling Fish
We are drawing inspiration from biology with the three BLIMP hulls you have been provided. One of your hulls is shaped like a tuna fish, one like a ray, and one like a jellyfish. Think about how each of these fish move through water, and how much structural rigidity they need. Use what you have learned so far to devise a model for how you would represent each of these fish structurally. Sketch your model fish. Do you recall how to indicate the forces on the fish? If not, you might want to revisit the lesson on Free Body Diagrams.
Next Steps
This sequence of lessons has focused on concepts related to Form and Function of fish and blimps. The next steps are to understand how fish, and blimps, balance and move.
Last updated: November 23, 2022.
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