The Evolution of Bridge Construction: Materials for Design

THIEN VAN TRAN

What is a Bridge?
A structure spanning

and providing passage over a river, chasm, road, or the like Four basic types Girder Arch Suspension Cable-stayed

Wood
Tree logs across

streams and rivers Suspension bridges with rope Lumber Support by bending

Wood
Trusses Triangles

applied only at joints Today only small-scale arch or girder

Loads

Stone
Stone bridges were exclusively arch bridges Heavy

Stone
Arch Era 2000 BCE to end of 18th century Almost all bridges built for infrastructure
Romans

No tensile stress

Concrete
Composite material of aggregate and some material

that chemically binds when set Romans used volcanic ash 300 BCE Foundations in water

Joseph Aspdin Portland Cement 1824

Concrete
High compression, low tension

arches W.B. Wilkinson 1854 Bridge sections up to 300ft Virtually endless continuous spans

Railway

Iron
Higher strength (tension and compression) than

stone Chain suspension bridge China 600 CE Aerodynamics Thomas Pritchard 1779 Arch bridge Rust

Steel
Too expensive Henry Bessemer 1856
Rust

resistance, tensile strength

Steel: Supports
St. Louis Bridge

completed 1874 Cantilevers Individual spans up to 550ft Pre-stressed concrete

10

Steel: Cables and Wires

Suspension bridges

Narrows - 1940 Vertical cables rather than foundations Water Flex

Tacoma

11

12

Steel: Cables and Wires

Cable-stayed bridges

Newest design, 1955

Optimum

High-tension, no sag

Asymmetrical

13

References
1. 2. 3.

4.

5. 6. 7.

http://www.nps.gov/glca/historyculture/images/Navajo_Bridges_1.g if http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Brid ge_Astore.jpg/800px-Bridge_Astore.jpg http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:vUsuYeN_Rx02SM:http://www. gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/mun/images/m223.jpg&t=1 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Pont _myc%C3%A9nien_de_Kazarma_2.jpg/300pxPont_myc%C3%A9nien_de_Kazarma_2.jpg http://www.iabse.ethz.ch/elearningfiles/Tang070913/L09_reference .pdf http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3024/images/fs2005-3024_fig_13.jpg http://www.mta.info/mta/news/releases/cross-bay-veteransmemorial-bridge-spans.jpg

References
8. 9. 10.

11.
12.

13.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/images/iro n_bridge_1.jpg http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Wednesbury/Bessem er1.jpg https://www.nysdot.gov/regional-offices/region6/projectrepository/i86_project/images/construction/apr06/full/april04.jpg http://www.manhattanstyle.com/wpcontent/uploads/2009/11/GeoWashington.jpg http://www.engineeringcivil.com/wpcontent/uploads/2008/07/tacoma-narrows-bridge-collapse.jpg http://www.engineeringdaily.net/wpcontent/uploads/2010/03/sutong-bridge.jpg

Works Cited
Arch Bridges - Design Technology. 15 November 2010 <http://www.design-

technology.org/archbridges.htm>. Brantacan. Cable-stayed Bridges. 27 October 2001. 15 November 2010 <http://www.brantacan.co.uk/cable_stayed.htm>. Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Thomas Pritchard. 15 November 2010 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/477259/Thomas-Pritchard>. Carter, John. Roman Concrete Compared to Modern Concrete. 4 January 2010. 15 November 2010 <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2543417/roman_concrete_compared_ to_modern_concrete.html>. Clark, Jim. Iron and Steel. 2005. 15 November 2010 <http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/extraction/iron.html>. Hart-Davis, Adam. "Henry Bessemer, Man of Steel." Science and Technology 27 September 1995. History of Bridges. 15 November 15 2010 <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab97>. How Products Are Made. 15 November 2010 <http://www.madehow.com/inventorbios/33/Henry-Bessemer.html>.

Works Cited
Jensen, J.J. History of Bridges - A Philatelic Review. Trondheim, Norway, n.d. PCA Cement. History & Manufacture of Portland Cement. 2010. 15 November

2010 <http://www.cement.org/basics/concretebasics_history.asp>. Tang, Man-Chung. The Evolution of Bridge Technology. San Francisco, 2007. Trusses. 15 November 2010 <http://www.cwc.ca/NR/rdonlyres/828D87E476F7-4D1E-A370F063308312E1/0/ApplicationsHistoryDesignandManufacturing.pdf>. Wikipedia. Arkadiko Bridge. 15 November 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkadiko_Bridge>. Sutong Bridge. 15 November 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutong_Bridge>. Wonders of the World Databank. 2000. 15 November 2010 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/iron.html>. World Steel Association. The History of Steel Bridges. 15 November 2010 <http://www.worldsteel.org/?action=storypages&id=88>.