Study of Suspension Bridges
Bridges
Bridges are structures that provide passage over an obstacle, such as a river. They are means of carriage and transportation, which is why they’re convenient in today’s technological society. Architects and civil engineers work together in the design and construction process of bridges, respectively, which is a field of their professions.
[This is a box girder bridge, with the shape of a box and made out of steel and concrete.]
Even though bridges share similar goals, there exist various types of bridges. This is because of several factors that decide what kind of bridge should be built for a certain area. Some examples are the geographical location and climate of the site, the size of the bridge, and the cost of its construction. These components determine what type of bridge should be built accordingly. Also, although there are many types of bridges, most share similar aspects in design. This brings flexibility and a better-suited bridge to its location. These kinds of bridges are considered to be subtypes, almost like a family member to one another in their relation.
For the purpose of this paper, only the suspension bridge type and its subtypes will be discussed here, with more focus on the suspended-deck suspension bridge.
Suspension Bridges and Types
Suspension bridges are bridges that are suspended by main cables and anchored at the end of the bridge. There are four main types of suspension bridges: the simple suspension bridge, the underspanned suspension bridge, the stressed ribbon bridge, and the suspended-deck suspension bridge. Though they are relatively different from each other in design, suspension bridges share a common usage for the forces of tension and compression.
Tension stretches a suspension bridge similar to the way it does in the game of tug-and-war, and compression compresses the bridge such it reduces the volume of the bridge. An important thing to note is that tension has more...