The Physics of Bridges

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Physics of Bridges

The physics behind bridges is more complex than first meets the eye. To assure that a bridge is well-supported many concepts must be understood and used in the correct manner.

What is a bridge?
A bridge is a complex structure allowing passage across an obstacle: a structure that is built above and across a river, road, or other obstacle to allow people or vehicles to cross it.

Bridge forms
There are four major forms of bridges: beam, truss, arch, and suspension.

A beam bridge, also known as a girder bridge, contains a horizontal beam supported by 2 piers at each end. The beam pushes down on the piers, which weakens the overall bridge. These simplistic bridges are the shortest of all types due to the lack of built-in supports. The further the supports become due to the stretching of the bridge, the weaker the beam bridge becomes, so they only span to approximately 76.2 meters on average. Therefore, this type of bridge must be able to resist twisting and bending when a heavy load is on it. Reinforced concrete and steel beams are most commonly used to make the...

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