Bridges What Is A Bridge?
Bridges What Is A Bridge?
Bridges What Is A Bridge?
What is a Bridge?
• A bridge is a structure that is used to cross some form of barrier, making it easier
get to one place from another.
• Other barriers, such as rivers, have always confronted travelers and traders who
wanted to take the shortest, quickest and safest route to complete their journeys.
• Any study of bridges through time demonstrates the ways in which human
ingenuity and resourcefulness have been applied to improve the movement of
goods and people from place to place.
Earliest Bridges
• The earliest bridges were probably fallen tree trunks or stone slabs placed across
a small gap in effect, a simple beam bridge.
• This type of bridge comprises a horizontal beam supported at each end by
vertical supports known as piers.
• A wider gap probably did not create too many problems for people traveling on
foot the beam would bend a little in the middle but a person could still cross the
barrier.
Bridge Terms
• Bridge :
- A structure that provides a way across a barrier.
Something that connects, supports, or links one thing to another.
• Arch Bridge :
A bridge having a curved structure. The arch design provides strength by
exerting force downwards and sideways against the abutments.
• Bascule Bridge :
A hinged bridge that acts like a seesaw.
Sections can be lifted using weights as a counterbalance.
• Beam Bridge :
The simplest type of bridge. It is made from a rigid, straight structure resting on
supports at either end.
• Cable-Stayed Bridge :
A modern design of bridge in which the deck is supported by cables directly
attached to towers.
• Cantilever Bridge :
Similar to the beam bridge, this design gets its support from counterbalanced
beams meeting in the middle of the bridge rather than from supports at either
end. The two arms of the beam are called cantilevers.
• Suspension Bridge :
A type of bridge in which the deck hangs from wires attached to thick cables.
The cables themselves pass over towers and are securely anchored in concrete
anchorages.
• Truss Bridge :
A type of beam bridge, reinforced by a framework of girders that form triangular
shapes.
Pictures of Bridges
Bridge Features
• Abutment :
- The mass of rock or concrete at either end of an arch bridge that keeps the ends
of the arch securely in place so they do not separate and cause the bridge to fall.
• Anchorage :
- Foundations/concrete blocks into which the cables of a suspension bridge are
secured.
• Beam :
- A rigid, horizontal component of a bridge.
• Cable :
- A bundle of wires used to support the decking of a suspension bridge or a cable-
stayed bridge.
• Caisson :
- A temporary structure used to keep out water during construction of the piers
foundations.
• Decking :
- The surface of the bridge that serves as a walkway, roadway or railway.
• Framework :
- A skeletal arrangement of materials that give form and support to a structure.
• Girder :
- A strong, supporting beam.
• Hand or Guard Rail :
- A safety feature added to the sides of the bridge's deck to prevent people,
animals or vehicles from falling from the bridge.
• Keystone :
- The final wedge-shaped piece placed in the center of an arch that causes the other
pieces to remain in place.
• Obstacle :
- Something that stands in the way or acts as a barrier.
• Pier :
- A vertical support for the middle spans of a bridge - a column, tower or pillar, for
example.
• Pulley :
- A wheel used for hoisting or changing the direction of a force.
• Ramp :
- An inclined section connecting the shore to the deck of the bridge.
• Roadway :
- The area of the bridge along which traffic travels; it rests on the decking.
• Span :
- The section of the bridge between two piers.
• Support :
- An object that holds up a bridge and serves as a foundation.
• Suspender :
- A supporting cable for the deck; it is hung vertically from the main cable of the
suspension bridge. Also known as a Hanger.
• Strut :
- A structural support under compression.
• Tie :
- A structural support under tension.
• Tower :
- A tall, vertical support that carries the main cables of a suspension bridge and
cable-stayed bridge.
• Triangulation :
- A building concept, using triangles, made from squares, to enhance the strength
of a structure.
• Truss :
- A framework of girders, some in tension and some in compression, comprising
triangles and other stable shapes.
• Voussoir :
- A true arch made from wedge-shaped stone blocks that fit tightly together
against abutments. (French: 'arch-stone.')
• This idea can be seen through Newton’s third law of motion, as an “equal but
opposite reaction”. The following is an example of how the normal force, FN , isn’t
always equal to the force of gravity on the object, FW .
Bridge Materials
• Now that we have established a base in forces, we can explore how forces affect
different bridges.
- Different Bridges are made out of different materials, and every type of
material has a certain elasticity. Elasticity is its ability to change shape while
a force is acting on it, and then move back to its original shape. Additionally,
every material has a certain limit of how far its shape can be altered, before it
becomes plastic, or unable to regain its original form.
- This elasticity allows for different parts of a bridge to experience stress,
without breaking, and in turn hold up the bridge as a result of normal force.