On July 22, 2026, a structural failure test was conducted with students in the BA 11.2 – Structural Engineering module.
On July 22, 2026, the traditional beam breaking test took place in the BA 11.2 – Structural Engineering module with students from the Bachelor’s program in Architecture.
In the final lecture of the 2026 summer semester, the Department of Structural Engineering held its traditional beam breaking test. Second-semester students designed and built a cardboard beam, which was loaded to failure in a test machine developed specifically for this purpose and then discussed as a group.
These exciting experiments vividly demonstrated the load-bearing behavior and the causes of failure in the models the students brought in. The ratio of the breaking load to the beam’s dead weight then allowed them to assess the efficiency of the structural design. The students who created the three most successful beams—and whose designs or constructions were outstanding—were awarded a prize.
The “First Place” beam, designed by this year’s winners Sina Bergmann, Anna Ziegler, Kim Münker, and Mia Conze, had a self-weight of 165 g and could withstand a load of 57.0 kg, resulting in a load-to-weight ratio of 34.5. Second prize went to the “Kraft-Zwerck” beam designed by Frank Burghardt, David Vadas, Denis Muran, and Arina Herwald. This beam weighed 144 g and failed at a breaking load of 49.6 kg, with a load-to-weight ratio of 34.4. Michal Pietrak, Philipp Lehne, Joshua Hundt, and Arthur Iskandirov won third prize. The “Try Force III” beam, with a dead weight of 198 g, failed at 54.4 kg and a ratio of 27.5.
We would like to thank all participants for the wonderful event and look forward to the courses in Module BA 11.3—Structural Engineering—in the winter semester of 2026.
