preview

What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Bridge

Decent Essays

This report aims to examine the advantages and shortcomings of four different types of bridge, namely the truss, suspension, beam, and cantilever bridges. Secondly, it evaluates three forces that act upon these bridges ㅡ compression, tension, and shear ㅡ and how each kind of bridge handles the forces. Lastly, it includes a explanation of the Tacoma Bridge incident and a description of the author’s bridge.
Since tension, compression, and shear are to be discussed for each kind of bridge, here are definitions for those forces. Tension acts to expand or lengthen the thing upon which it is acting (Basics). Compression, the opposite of tension, is a force that attempts to compress or shorten whatever it is acting upon (Basics). Another force, shear, occurs when two forces move in opposite directions on the bridge (Discovery). …show more content…

In the middle parts of these bridges, there is only one side support, making it weaker than other sections of the bridge (NYLN). On this type of bridge, tension and compression are the main forces. When there is a load, the bridge experiences tension in the upper part of the cantilever span and compression in the span under the deck (Hagler). As long as these forces remain balanced, the bridge functions well, but, for example, if the compression force becomes more than the tension force, then the lower supports of the bridge could collapse (Hagler). Though not as prominent a force, shear still acts upon cantilever bridges when a load passes along the “suspended deck;” since the deck is not supported by a beam underneath and has only one side support, it is the weakest point of the bridge (Hagler). The load, in addition to gravity, pushes downward while the beams on either side of it push back upwards; the cantilever of the bridge distributes this force on the deck so that it does not collapse

Get Access