Bridges Brad Ferguson Types of Bridges Beam Cantilever

Bridges Brad Ferguson

Types of Bridges • • • Beam Cantilever Arch Suspension Cable-stayed Truss

Beam Bridge • Simplest form of bridges • Horizontal beams with vertical supports • Commonly used for overpasses and pedestrians

Cantilever Bridge • • Two cantilevers held up by horizontal beams A suspended piece in between the cantilevers Easier than most bridges to construct Used for long distances where it is hard to construct bridges

Arch Bridge • Supported by a series of arches • The more weight on the structure, the stronger it is

Suspension Bridge • Supported bridge is hung from suspension cables • Suspension cables are anchored at each end of the bridge

Cable-Stayed Bridge • Columns support cables that hold up the bridge • The cables fan out, opposed to vertical of suspension • More stable than suspension

Truss Bridge • (Usually straight), connected elements that are stressed from tension and compression

Bridge in Literature • A Bridge Too Far by Ryan Cornelius • Story of Operation Market Garden • Allies tried to break through the German lines at Arnhem

Bridge in Film • Bridge Over the River Kwai • War movie about Japanese prison camp commander and a British colonel overseeing prisoners constructing a bridge • Allies are attempting to destroy the bridge

Bridge Disasters • Yarmouth Bridge • Angers Bridge • Silver Bridge

Yarmouth Bridge Disaster Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom May 2, 1845 Suspension Bridge People were crowded on bridge watching a clown in a barrel. When the clown passed under the bridge, weight shifted and the cables snapped • 79 people drowned, mostly children • •

Angers Bridge Disaster • • • Angers, France April 16, 1850 Suspension bridge Marching of soldiers led to collapse 226 died

Silver Bridge Disaster • Point Pleasant, WV and Kanauga, OH, USA • December 15, 1967 • Chain link suspension • Material fault and corrosion led to collapse • 46 died, 9 injured • Inspired the book Mothman Prophecies

Famous Bridges • Xupu Bridge • Sutong Bridge • Huey P. Long Bridge

Xupu Bridge • • • Completed in 1997 Shanghai, China Cable-stayed bridge Road bridge Main span is 590 meters

Sutong Bridge • • Completed June, 2007 Over Yangtze River in China Cable-stayed bridge Main span is 1, 088 meters, longest main span of a cable-stayed bridge in the world

Huey P. Long Bridge • • • Completed in December, 1935 Over Mississippi river in New Orleans, LA Truss-Cantilever Bridge Road and railroad 8, 076 feet long

Physics Involved • A bridge must have compression and tension • This provides stability as weight is transferred across the bridge • Takes stress off certain points and gives it to others throughout the movement of weight