All About BridgesAll About Bridges
Bridge types, construction, and erection
Girder BridgeGirder Bridge
A girder bridge is the most common and most basic bridge. In modern steel girder bridges,
Example: A log across a creek
World's Longest
Ponte Costa e Silva, Brazil
Total Length 700m
Center Span 300m
the two most common girders are I-beam girders and box-girders.
Arch BridgeArch Bridge second oldest bridge type and a classic structure well suited to
the use of stone.
Arches use a curved structure which provides a high resistance to bending forces.
World's Longest
New River Gorge Bridge, U.S.A.
Total Length 924m
Truss BridgeTruss Bridge
World's Longest
Pont de Quebec
Total Length 863m
Center Span 549m
Mostly all beams in a truss bridge are straight. Trusses are comprised of many small beams that together can support a large amount of weight and span great distances.
can serve as a distraction to drivers
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StStayayed ed
BriBridgdgeses
A tower is erected on a continuous girder. From these towers, cables stretch down diagonally (usually to both sides) and support the girder.
extremely strong but very flexible
World's Longest
Tatara Bridge, Japan
Total Length 1,480m
Center Span 890m
Rigid frame bridges (Rahmen Rigid frame bridges (Rahmen bridges)bridges)
a rigid frame bridge is one in which the piers and girder are one solid structure
The cross sections of the beams in a rigid frame bridge are usually I shaped or box shaped
Suspension BridgesSuspension BridgesWorld's Longest
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Japan
Total Length 3,911m
Center Span 1,991mvery old form
of bridge
The girder or roadway is actually hanging suspended from the main cables. The majority of the weight of the bridge and any vehicles on it are suspended from the cables. In turn the cables are held up only by the towers, there is an incredible amount of weight that the towers must be able to support.
Bridges in LiteratureBridges in Literature
Braveheart
The Battle of Stirling Bridge is depicted in the 1995 film Braveheart after the novel. The director, Mel Gibson, however, chose not to depict the bridge at all in an attempt to make it more compelling cinematically.
Bridge in MovieBridge in Movie
The golden gate bridge is an ironic structure. An engineering masterpiece. A triumph of human ingenuity and muscle over the elements. More people choose to end their lives at the Golden Gate Bridge than anywhere else in the world. The sheer number of deaths there is shocking but not altogether surprising. If one wants to commit suicide, there is an eerie logic in selecting a means that is almost always fatal and a place that is magically, mysteriously beautiful.
The Bridge is a visual and visceral journey into one of life’s greatest taboos.
Bridge DisastersBridge Disasters
Location: Stirling, Scotland
Type: Beam Cause: Overload by attackers during the Battle of
Stirling Bridge Effect: The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a shattering
defeat for the English: it showed that under certain circumstances, where the conditions were right, infantry could be superior to cavalry.
Stirling Bridge
Bridge DisastersBridge Disasters
Location: Great Yarmouth,United Kingdom Type: Suspension Bridge Cause: People crowded onto it to see a clown go
down the river in a barrel pulled by geese. The weight of people shifted as the barrel passed underneath, the suspension chains on the south side snapped and the bridge deck tipped over.
Effect: Suspension chains snapped due to overload.
Yarmouth Bridge
Bridge DisastersBridge Disasters
Location: Ashtabula,Ohio, United States Type: Wrought iron truss bridge Cause: Possible fatigue failure of cast iron
elements Effect: One or perhaps two of the bridge designers
later committed suicide. The disaster helped focus efforts to draw up standards for bridges including adequate testing and inspection.
Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster
Famous BridgeFamous Bridge
Tower Bridge
135 feet high and 200 feet wide
one of London's most recognizable symbols
Famous BridgeFamous Bridge
Eitaibashi (“Long Reign Bridge”)
sharply arched wooden bridge
one of the most famous bridges in Tokyo
Famous BridgeFamous Bridge
The RialtoBridge
the oldest bridge crossing theGrand Canal in Venice.
The stone Rialto bridge replaced a previous wooden structure
There are 2 ramps which lead up to the central portico and 2 ramps on either side
Bridges and PhysicsBridges and Physics
Compression is a force that acts to compress or shorten the thing it is acting on.
Tension is a force that acts to expand or lengthen the thing it is acting on.
A simple, everyday example of compression and tension is a spring. When we press down, or push the two ends of the spring together, we compress it. The force of compression shortens the spring. When we pull up, or pull apart the two ends, we create tension in the spring. The force of tension lengthens the spring.
Stress: different types of materials can sustain different amounts of stress – force put on the bridge when holding up an object
Strain: the force caused by stress.