Round Table spring session 2020

An In-depth Understanding ofInfrastructure through the bridgecontest
Kazuya Numata​ (Doshisha Junior High School)
February 16, 2020

What’s the bridge contest?
The bridge contest is a competition that can assess the strength of a bridge structure made bystudents.
I would advocate that bridge contests are not only useful for learning mathematical formulas andstructural mechanics. They are also effective in fostering a broader work and career consciousness forjunior high school students, and by using the theme “bridge”, it can provide students with theopportunity to ask questions such as:
1How is public equality promoted in infrastructure?,
What is the definition of public property for residents and citizens?,
Who will maintain the infrastructure that will be created using public funds known as a ‘blood tax’ inJapan? ,How should future infrastructure be maintained ?, or so.
The Bridge Contest is an opportunity to access our argument, the maintenance of infrastructure associal capital.

Process of activities that I designed

Making Model of bridge & Testing
Twenty years ago, in the subject "Technology" class, theidea of "making things accurately" was dominant. So theactivity of "destroying" was new. The students seemed
confused about what could be broken. And the work
seemed to be difficult. I told my students, "You can do as2

many destructive tests as you want." With this liberty the students started a destructive test, saying,"It’s okay if I fail!"
The activity quickly became popular.
"Wow, that is Bent !""Stop! It will break!" students asid.
Then, students in another group were assembled on a destructive test bench during the test. Thestudents had fun doing the destructive tests.
After the test, the students wrote feedback.
"Triangles are put in the structure, and small pieces of wood are laid on top to strengthen the center,"said one student who noted the truss structure.
Some students noticed the processing
accuracy, saying, "It was better toimprove the surface area (cut thediagonal of the tip) so that the wood
could touch more.""It's a good idea to build 'slowly' sothat the lower weight doesn't shake,"said one student. Some students
noticed the structure of the entirebridge, saying, "The entire bridge
must be uniform."
The students mentioned not only thestrength and structure but also thetest method, and they were very
interested and engaged in the activityof the bridge contest. After class, wewatched a video of Akashi Kaikyo
Bridge construction.
"It's not just a matter of using a lot ofmaterials. Safety is the first priority,
but even such a narrow pier cansupport a long bridge girder. I thoughtthat such a job would be good", "The3people on the site have amazing skills and accuracy in calculations of the bridge design, "said thestudents.
Many students showed interest in engineering and technology as well as learning mathematicalformulas and structural mechanics in the bridge contest. In addition, some students improved theircareer awareness.

Building Arch bridge“A real brick arch that is safe for people to stand on”
The arch structure was invented 5000 years ago by theSumerians of Mesopotamia and is said to have been thecornerstone of today's architecture. It is said that both thearcade in front of the station and the architecture are derived
from this arch. Build a mortar bridge using cement. Bothconcrete and mortar use a material called cement. The namechanges depending on whether or not gravel is mixed.
This is a project to assemble an arch bridge on which people
can stand with bricks. Lay the bricks on the brick base withsand and water. If you add water to the sand, it will become
moderately sticky and play a role in joining bricks. If there is nowater, adjust by spraying.

4

Making different pieces of mortar-

Do you know the difference between mortar and concrete? -Concrete is composed of large aggregates (gravel, etc.) in addition to cement and sand.Mortar ismainly made of cement and sand.In this class, all students made mortar specimens and conducted
strength tests under various conditions.A science teacher gave a lecture on the scientific story ofcement.

5

PROJECT SUSPENSION BRIDGE-Same steps for the model and the real one -This is an activity in which students can learn how toplan a big project like building a suspension bridge.
The construction process of a model bridge is the sameas a real bridge

6

Teamwork is especially important in theconstruction of social capital such assuspension bridges. The real pleasure lies infitting all the puzzle pieces together correctly.
Identify construction conditions, selectconstruction methods based on the results ofgeological / ocean current surveys, and insome cases hold briefing sessions forresidents' understanding, and design routes
to balance the loading of building materials
and the transport of excavated earth and sand. There are a variety of issues, such as devising anefficient transport method procedure,
too. A huge project can be advanced while balancing the construction period, cost and safety. It is not
something even a skilled leader can do working alone.
In the class, each process is divided and roles are divided, and a suspension bridge is made with theobjects around us. It is an activity to cooperate in assembling and dismantling a suspension bridge
model within a limited time. The anchorage is a student desk, the caisson is a climbing base, the main
tower is a climbing frame, the main
cables and hanger ropes are vinyl strings,
and the bridge girder is a white board.
Lifelines such as railroads, roads, andwater supply routes have all beenequipped with Plarails, and have a new
trendy look.
The suspension bridge of the model alsobends when the toy Shinkansen passes
through it. If you shake one side of thesuspension bridge, the other side will
shake as well.

7

Going to real bridge “Akashi
Kaikyo Bridge”
I always bring my students on a real bridge tour.
The students are volunteers who want to see a realbridge. I plan a trip to the longest Bridge tour inthe world, Akashi Strait Bridge, and lead students
once a year.
Walking on the grating of the bridge girder (alattice-shaped sunoko made of iron) that cannot
be entered normally, retirees who were involvedin construction and design during their career will provide engineering explanations. We ascend to thetop using the main tower elevator with the former engineer. There is a panoramic view of about 300m
and 360 degrees above the sea surface. Students will be surprised at the huge functional beauty ofAkashi Kaikyo Bridge by listening to the commentary of the former engineer and the experience of thebridge contest obtained in class. The number of participants is small, about 20 people, but thestudents who participated feel very moved. I would like to introduce the impressions of the students
below. Both of them have something like a real feeling that cannot be obtained in class.
"The explanation by the guide at the first museum was very easy to understand while looking at theexhibits, etc. Then I actually walked down the bridge and saw the size of the towering tower from thesea up close. I also thought that the presence of a large number of large parts was a sign of thedifficulty of the construction: climbing the summit
overlooking Honshu, Awaji Island, and the Seto
Inland Sea provided a very good view. On the way
back I was able to ask the guide questions and I
think it was worthwhile to have questions
answered in a very easy-to-understandexplanation. Japan was one of the passions of
those who spent ten years working on
construction, and there are many challenges anddifficulties in building a bridge that still holds therecord for longest bridge ever built. I wasimpressed by the technology present in thedesign."

8"Looking at the bridge on the return train, I noticed that atriangular pole was supporting the bridge. When I thought
about it, I realized that it was the same with the Akashi
Kaikyo Bridge. I thought that the triangle is a shape that
could easily support objects, and I was able to learn moredetails with the help of the commentators. I wanted to makeuse of it in a technical lesson, I wanted to make a small
model of the cute bridge, and I wanted to make it
immediately, and above all, the view from the top of thetower was a superb view. It was like walking down the bridgeto the ground, it was a very mysterious view I had neverseen, I thought I wanted to see my family, I was scared to getto the top of the tower Look through the metal net I wasworried that the sea would fall right underneath, but I wasrelieved because the employees said, "This is a bridge that I
made, so I can't break it. I want to come again with my family. "Think and experience the present and future of social capital

Talks from MLIT experts, drone experiences, VR work at heights

9(With Ministry of Land、Infrastructure and Transport)Mr. Fujita (MLIT) came to our school and talked about the present and future of the maintenance andmanagement of social capital such as bridges. And Mr. Aoyama of Special Altitude Technology Co.,
Ltd. gave us the experience of bridge inspection and VR experience, and Mr. Sakaguchi of NPO Pasu
Asumu Civil Engineering (Drone Shooting Creators Association) said that drone recording is currently
in the pilot stage of consideration for future bridge inspection.

In the technical course at Doshisha Junior High School, we learn through experience the social capitalthat is our common property (strength test of bridge model, mortar test piece production andstrength test, arch structure production, management of huge project with suspension bridge model)
We have developed our own curriculum to think about future social life and the future of sharedcapital. Civil engineering that supports our infrastructure is exactly what we call the design of humansocial life. It is a topic that is packed with elements of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art,Mathematics), but it is discussed often. Also, It is not done. STEAM focuses on this genre and strives todevelop rich learning for students. In the future, a new learning style will be adopted in which
students will be able to respond flexibly by learning live and working while actively connecting PBL(project-based learning) learning methods to the actual society and the field. For this reason, in oneof the classroom exercises, we collaborated with the MLIT.
* Lecture of experts from MLIT: Maintaining social capital (measures for aging bridges). Creating thefuture.
* A proposal for inspection using a drone as a new bridge inspection technology.
Students experience indoor operation and shooting (practice with professional photographers anddrone pilots)10

* Experience inspection by VR (high-altitude inspection model) from an inspection company
undertaking the work of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (⇒ VRexperience)

Students said,"Tell me in detail about things I have heard but haven't heard of, such as infrastructure and lifelines,with examples. ""I knew that the deterioration of social capital was a problem now, but I didn't know at all that there
were people using the latest drones to maintain it. And through the experience, I was able to get toknow them and think about applications from a slightly different field, such as drones. I was able tomeet interesting people and it was a very good experience. "Students consider themselves to be a hero who can change reality as a citizen.

My goal as a teacher
If you want to think more deeply about infrastructure as social capital, you need more diverse
academic knowledge. You will also need a deeper understanding of thought and philosophy. Also, youwill want more ways of thinking when making decisions. Students living in the future will face11increasing budgets for repairs, aging infrastructure, and the problems of declining population. In sucha pressing situation, we, teachers, cannot give students a quiet, fixed knowledge in a one-way
manner. And we, teachers, must not give classes as if we hold all the answers. The challenges facing
students in the future society will not be solved by the knowledge and methods of aged humanbeings.
I am thinking of my future students who are international students from the future world. The society
in which students live in the future is completely different from the society in which our old humans
have lived. Human problems (global warming, climate change) caused by the relationship between
nature and humanity already exist on a global range.
What can I do for international students from the future world?
What should I do for our students from the future world?
I want to think about it with students in the future. I would like to explore and learn with students
living in the future and approach the future society by sharing the sense of ownership.

12