Basic Concepts

Span - the distance between two bridge

supports, whether they are columns, towers
or the wall of a canyon.

Force -

Compression –

Tension -
Compression Tension

Concrete has good compressive strength, but extremely

weak tensile strength. What about steel cables?
 Basic Concepts

Beam - a rigid, usually horizontal, structural element

Beam

Pier

Pier - a vertical supporting structure, such as a pillar

Cantilever - a projecting structure supported only at one end,

like a shelf bracket or a diving board

Load - weight on a structure

What makes a bridge stay up?

− Forces
− Compression – a
pushing or squeezing
force
− Tension – a pulling or
stretching force
Arch Bridges

− Keystone – the wedge-

shaped stone of an arch
that locks its parts
together
− Abutments – the
structures that support
the ends of the bridge
Arch Bridges

− Works by
Compression
Cable-Stayed Bridges

− Piers – the vertical supporting structures

− Cables – thick steel ropes from which the
decking is suspended
− Decking – the supported roadway on a bridge
 Cable-Stayed Bridges

− Works by Tension AND Compression

 Suspension Bridges

− Similar to Cable-Stayed
− Different construction method
 Suspension Bridges

− Works by Tension and Compression

1. A beam bridge has its beam partly in
tension and partly in compression, with
the abutments (side pillars) in
compression.

2. An arch bridge supports loads through

compression.

3. A suspension bridge has its piers

(towers) in compression and the deck
hangs from thick suspension cables by
thinner cables, all of which are in
tension.
1. A cable-stayed bridge is similar but
the deck hangs directly from the piers
from cables. The piers are in
compression and the cables are in
tension.

2. A truss bridge is a kind of reinforced

beam bridge. Like a beam bridge, the
top is in compression and the bottom
in tension. The diagonal trusses are in
tension and the vertical ones are in
compression.

3. A cantilever bridge balances tension

forces above the bridge deck with
compression forces below.