Hyperboloid structures?

[sonoob]

One of the kids in my team's (division c) tower event wants to build a "hyperboloid structure" (see link) since the Tower wiki page says that "A bonus of 5000g is given to any tower that can span an opening in the shape of a 27x27cm circle." This is our first year competing with build events (second year as a team) and so we have very limited supplies and very limited knowledge.

My question is, do you actually get bonus points by building a circular tower? Is this an efficient method, and could it even work, or should I advise him to make a traditional rectangle base-shaped tower? Is there a way to get this bonus without building a circular tower?

We would be using 1/8 inch thick balsa wood that has to be cut into strips and Loctite super glue.

Wikipedia page for hyperboloid structures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbolo ... r=1f388459

[SPP SciO]

One of the kids in my team's (division c) tower event wants to build a "hyperboloid structure" (see link) since the Tower wiki page says that "A bonus of 5000g is given to any tower that can span an opening in the shape of a 27x27cm circle." This is our first year competing with build events (second year as a team) and so we have very limited supplies and very limited knowledge.

My question is, do you actually get bonus points by building a circular tower? Is this an efficient method, and could it even work, or should I advise him to make a traditional rectangle base-shaped tower? Is there a way to get this bonus without building a circular tower?

We would be using 1/8 inch thick balsa wood that has to be cut into strips and Loctite super glue.

Wikipedia page for hyperboloid structures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbolo ... r=1f388459

The rules say, "Bonus points may be obtained by designing the tower to span a 29cm circle" - whether that's a large square base, or some sort of other shape, as long as no part of the tower touches the testing platform within the 29cm circle, it's bonus-eligible. The big catch though, to get the 5000g bonus, is the tower also needs to hold all 15kg of load. The last time Towers had the 29cm circle rule, the bonus was given to any team that cleared the circle; this year, teams must clear the circle and hold the full load of sand.

[knightmoves]

One of the kids in my team's (division c) tower event wants to build a "hyperboloid structure" (see link) since the Tower wiki page says that "A bonus of 5000g is given to any tower that can span an opening in the shape of a 27x27cm circle." This is our first year competing with build events (second year as a team) and so we have very limited supplies and very limited knowledge.

My question is, do you actually get bonus points by building a circular tower? Is this an efficient method, and could it even work, or should I advise him to make a traditional rectangle base-shaped tower? Is there a way to get this bonus without building a circular tower?

A hyperboloid would win many coolness points, but is probably not the most efficient way to address the problem in towers. I'll also note that building with wood, which has grain, is not quite the same as building with steel, which does not.

The Tower has to deal with a single load - the weight hung from the top. It doesn't have to deal with random external stresses from wind, or anything else.

You can absolutely score the bonus with a tower with either a square or rectangular base, as long as its legs are outside the circle.

[pumptato-cat]

If anyone has built a "hyperboloid" structure I'd be very interested to see. Please do post if you end up making one!

[rubikscubeviolin]

One of the kids in my team's (division c) tower event wants to build a "hyperboloid structure" (see link) since the Tower wiki page says that "A bonus of 5000g is given to any tower that can span an opening in the shape of a 27x27cm circle." This is our first year competing with build events (second year as a team) and so we have very limited supplies and very limited knowledge.

My question is, do you actually get bonus points by building a circular tower? Is this an efficient method, and could it even work, or should I advise him to make a traditional rectangle base-shaped tower? Is there a way to get this bonus without building a circular tower?

We would be using 1/8 inch thick balsa wood that has to be cut into strips and Loctite super glue.

Wikipedia page for hyperboloid structures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbolo ... r=1f388459

Hyperboloid towers would be pretty cool to build, but the tower doesn't have to be circular. the 27*27cm circle just means that tower has to span that length, regardless if it has a circular base or not. If the tower does end up holding all the weight, you would be given the bonus points not because its circular but because it held all the weight needed and spanned a 27*27cm circle.

You might risk some efficiency too, while building these types of towers. The design might be overly complicated and too heavy, and in the end you really care about the efficiency, which is the weight held divided by the weight of your tower.

I would advise to do a traditional rectangle-based (or even triangle base if you want!) just for the sake of time, effort, and the weight of the tower too.

report back and tell us if you ended up doing a hyperboloid tower!
-rubikscubeviolin