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History of Bridges

Bridges

In the Beginning...

Natural Bridges

Bridges
The first man made bridges:
Simple beam bridge
Logs formed the beams

- Advantages and disadvantages

- Application Scope

Bridges
When all a society has to build with is stone and
wood, the individual span lengths of a simple beam
bridge are very short.
New technology was needed to:
Span greater distances
Withstand greater loads
Withstand the effects of weathering
SOLUTION:

THE ARCH

With arches, everything is in

compression all the time

Bridges
As with simple beam bridges, long spans can
be realized by using multiple arches

- Advantages and disadvantages

- Application Scope

Once materials were available to engineers which could

be loaded in tension, a new type of arch bridge
appeared:

This was the suspended deck arch bridge.

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The need to span increased
distances continued to
pressure bridge designers.
With the new material of
steel available, with its
superior performance in
tension, new designs made
bridges longer and stronger.
Steel made the
BRIDGE possible.

TRUSS

Still, longer spans were required.

As technology developed, and materials became
available, a new variation on an old design was
possible. This dramatically increased the total
span length.
This is the SUSPENSION BRIDGE

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The cables of a suspension bridge are not fixed to the
tops of the towers. Rather, as this photo shows, they
are free to move as the bridge moves.

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2 Km

The January 17, 1995 Kobe earthquake had its

epicenter right between the two towers of the
Akashi Straits Bridge. The original planned length
was 1990 meters for the main span, but the
seismic event moved the towers apart by almost a
meter. Since construction of the deck had not yet
begun, the change was easily accommodated in
the slightly altered final design.
The towers of the bridge contain tuned mass
dampers in order to diminish the vibrations in the
structure during earthquakes.

Akashi Straits Bridge

Bridges
The most recent development in bridge design does not
make any dramatic increases in span length. Rather, it allows
mid-sized bridges to built with less material, therefore
making bridges more economical to build and maintain.
These are the CABLE - STAYED bridges

Bridges