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Illuminated glass tubes make a truss beam. The beam supports a rail with a seat that can be ridden like a zipline. The resulting forces in the glass tubes are measured and shown by colored lighting in the tubes. Red for tension, blue for compression.
An educational structure
Forces acting in structures are abstract, they cannot be observed. The Ziptruss makes these forces visible in a spectacular way: The structural members themselves light up to show in real time the compression and tension forces. The rail with the seat allow the visitor to apply a force (their own weight) to the structure and move that force along the length of the beam. This results in a dynamic pattern of forces in the truss and corresponding light spectacle.
The Ziptruss has been developed to make forces visible to first year students in lectures on Statics at Delft University of Technology.
The following firms have sponsored the project:
TU Delft: Concept, research, testing
G&SS: Design, engineering
Proliad: Aluminium components
Octatube: Steel frame and node connectors
Schott: Glass components
Glasstec: Funds
De Cirkel: LED Lighting advice
