Bridge Research

Project
Gina Hulsey
Period 7

Different Types of Bridges

Beam bridge- Its a horizontal beam thats supported at
each end by piers.
Arch bridge- Most arch bridges are made out of steel or
concrete.
Suspension bridge- Most have a truss system
underneath the roadway to resist bending and twisting.
Truss bridge- Consist of an assembly of triangles made
out of steel bars.

Beam Bridges
A beam bridge consists
of horizontal beam
supported at each of
the piers. The weight
of the beam pushes
straight down on the
piers. The farther the
piers, the weaker the
beam is. Thats why
beam bridges rarely
span more than 250

Arch Bridges
Most arch
bridges are
made out of
steel or
concrete, and
can span to 800
feet.

Suspension Bridges
Suspension bridges
can span 2,0007,000 feet. Most
suspension bridges
have a truss
system beneath
the roadway to
resist bending and
twisting.

Truss bridges
Truss bridges
consist of an
assembly of
triangles, made
out of straight
steel bars.

Compression and Tension

Compression is a
force that squeezes
a material together.
When a material is
in compression, it
tends to become
shorter.

Tension is a
force that
stretches a
material apart.
When a
material is in
tension, it
tends to
become longer.

Bending and Torsion

When a straight
material becomes
curved, one side
squeezes together
and the other side
stretches apart.

Torsion is an
action that
twists a
material.

Shear
Shear is a force
that causes parts
of a material to
slide past one
another in
opposite
directions.

Dead Load and Live Load

Dead load us the
weight of the
structure itself.
Anything
permanently
attached to the
structure is part of its
dead load- including
the columns, beams,
nuts, and bolts.

Live load is the

weight of the stuff
on the structure.
Things that move
in or on a
structure, like
people, furniture,
and cars.

Settlement Load and Thermal Load

Settlement load is when
the soil beneath a structure
settles unevenly. Structures
will sink and change shape
when they experience
settlement load.

Thermal load is when a

structure expands or
shrinks with the
temperature. The
temperature causes the
beams and columns to
change shape and push
and pull on other parts of
the structure.

Earthquake Load and Wind Load

Earthquake load is
when the ground
beneath a
structure jerks
back and forth
during an
earthquake.
Earthquake loads
push and pull
horizontally on a
structure.

Wind load is when

wind blows on a
structure. Wind loads
push horizontally on a
structure.

Dynamic Load
Dynamic load is
loads that change
over time. From
wind gusts to
pounding objectscreate vibrations
that can become
bigger and more
dangerous over
time.

Rectangle
Disadvantage
The rectangle is wobbly, unstable
shape. When you push the side, it
flops into a slanted parallelogram.
This happens without any of the
rectangles sides changing length.
Advantage
When you put a brace from opposite
corners, when the rectangle gets
pushed the diagonal brace gets
squeezed, preventing the rectangle
from flopping over.

Arch and Triangle

Disadvantage
The force on top of the
arch pushes the sides
of the arch outward.
Advantage
When you put
buttresses it supports
the arch from going
outwards.

Disadvantage
When force comes from the side the outer edge squeezes
together, and the inner edge pulls apart. When one side
experiences these two forces at the same time, it bends. The
weakest part of the triangle is its side.
Advantage
When the force comes from the top of the triangle, the two
sides squeeze together and the bottom side pulls apart. The
triangle doesnt bend because each side experiences only one
force at a time. When properly used, triangles are the most
stable and rigid shaped used in construction today

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, California
Length: 8,981 feet
Joseph Strauss, Charles Alton Ellis, and Irving
Morrow
Suspension Bridge
Opened May 27, 1937
4 years to build

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Located in Sydney, Australia
Length- 3,770 feet
Dorman Long designed the bridge
Arch bridge
Opened March 19, 1992
9 years to build

Brooklyn Bridge
Located in Brooklyn, Manhattan, New York
Length 5,989 feet
John A. Roebling and Washington Roebling designed the
bridge
Cable-stayed bridge and suspension bridge
Opened on May 24, 1883
13 years to build