Q6.1:”If the damping system is removed, the balsa wood structure, with all dead load weights attached, should be stable and firmly fixed to the base plate.” For the damping device, will it have to be removed during the competition? How might we need to demonstrate that it is fully removable?

A: The damping device is not required to be designed to be removable during the competition. This section is meant to specify that damping devices should not affect the stability of the structure, rather as a supplemental element to assist in energy dissipation. It will be obvious if stability is compromised if damping devices were to be removed from the structure. Hence, in case SDC Chairs determine that the damping devices must be removed, it would benefit teams to design their devices in a way that extraction of the devices would be relatively straightforward and wouldn’t compromise the structural integrity of the tower.