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Detailed description of the cause of the tacoma narrows bridge collapse
Suspension bridges before 1940
Failure analysis in tacoma narrows bridge
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INTRODUCTION:
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the third longest suspension span in the world at the time. It was suppose to have been revolutionary in it design, and it was known for it’s tendency to sway windstorm. Nevertheless, on November 7, 1940, a large storm caused it to collapse.
WHAT HAPPENED? WHY?
Even during the construction of the original Tacoma Narrow Bridge, the deck would go up and down by several feet with the slightest breeze. Construction workers on the span chewed on lemon wedges to stop their motion sickness but construction continued because the bridge have been designed specifically to withstand wind up to 120 miles per hour. The original Tacoma Narrow Bridge by Clark Eldridge was pretty conventional for a suspension bridge
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Having survived the collapse, but being damaged beyond repair as towers were twisted and the cables were damaged.
The current westbound bridge was designed and rebuilt with open trusses, stiffening struts and openings in the roadway to let wind through. Like other modern suspension bridges, the westbound bridge was built with steel plates that feature sharp entry edges rather than the flat plate sides used in the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge
The final designs of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, once finalized, were a sharp and drastic contrast from the design by Leon Moisseiff. Instead of a thin plate girder, an open-air stiffening truss with a depth of 33 feet (10 m) would form the new road deck. Newer, larger towers that rose 58 feet (18 m) higher and 21 feet (6.4 m) wider than Gertie's towers, would support the bridge's main cables, now 20 1⁄4 inches (510 mm) in diameter versus Gertie's 17 1⁄2 inches (440 mm). Newer, larger anchor blocks would support a load that weighed 1.6 times as much as the original bridge. However, some elements of Galloping Gertie were incorporated into the 1950 span. The tower pedestals were enlarged and raised 17 feet (5.2 m). On the west end stood a 450-foot (140 m) long approach viaduct with the same 8-foot (2.4 m) deep girders Gertie's main deck had. This approach viaduct used three support towers, two with thin support beams and one with the structural complexity and design of one of Gertie's main towers - each spaced 150 feet (46 m) apart. The viaduct, after a structural examination, was kept and utilized as part of the 1950 bridge's design, with an additional box strut brace added to the tower closest the shoreline (officially known as Tower #3 in the design plans), and widening of the upper box strut for the new bridge's
Have you ever thought about driving over a suspension bridge held up by cables? That’s what the Mackinac Bridge is. With the building of the Mackinac Bridge there has been many positive effects that have come out of it.
It became a link between Fort Erie, Canada and Buffalo, New York. The bridge is over one mile long, 5,800 feet, and holds three lanes of traffic. The center lane may go north or south depending on the volume of traffic. In 1934, the Great Depression caused a change.
Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775-1851, born the son of a London Barber and Wigmaker, is considered one of the greatest European artists of the 19th century. Turner, the English romantic landscape painter, watercolourists and printmaker, was regarded as a controversial and revolutionary figure by his contemporaries despite his training being similar to other artists of the time. His work ‘Walton Bridge’, Oil on Canvas 1806-10, reflects much of his training as a young artists as well as his well-known Romantic style. In this essay I will follow the beginnings of Turners artistic life, showing how his influences, training and opinions surrounding landscape painting have influenced his work ‘Walton Bridge.’ I will further explore how art critics, fellow artists and the wider public of the 19th Century received ‘Walton Bridge’ and his Landscape paintings in general.
The failure of the Mianus River Bridge occurred on June 28, 1983. One hundred feet of the northbound bridge collapsed into the Mianus River which caused three fatalities. The bridge itself was constructed in 1958 as a part of I-95 which is an interstate that runs from Florida to Maine. It was designed in the pin and hanger style that was primarily used in the 1950s in order to reduce the cost of the construction. The bridge is located in Greenwich, Connecticut and was made up of three lanes flowing in each direction and was supposed to be monitored and maintained by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. At one point during the bridge use, a decision was made to cover the drain holes in the bridge which prevented any water build up. This decision, coupled with the fact that the bridge was considered a failure critical bridge, caused it to fail. Since the water was not being routed to a drainage source, it would settle into the cracks and foundation which would later affect the pins in the bridge. Once the lower pin failed in the bridge, too much stress was forced onto the upper pins ...
One of the most influential engineering discoveries in the past century was the ill-fated Tacoma Narrows Bridge. “Galloping Gertie” as she was known to local residents, the massive Washington state suspension bridge shook, rattled and rolled its way into the history books. Legendary in its time, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge held many records and drew tourists from around the world in its short life. However, the famous bridge is not known for its creative engineering or speedy construction, unfortunately the bridge was destined to fail. That failure in turn changed the way every building is constructed today as well as further man’s understanding of physics and the forces of nature. In this paper we will examine the history of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge from design to construction, the failure of the bridge, and ultimately the rebuilding project.
The preferred alternative of ODOT is to widen and improve the structural integrity of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. The widening of the bridge shall follow the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specification (Baker, 2008, p.3) using steel pier cap extensions (Quesnell Bridge Widening). The structural integrity of the bridge is to be enhance by improving the fatigue life of welds (Bennett, Matamoros, Barett-Gonzalez, & Rolfe, 2014, p.8)
About eighty years ago, engineers were able to build a bridge on time and within budget with no problem; today, most of the projects take extra time and money to finish. What exactly happened between now and eighty years ago that caused such a drastic shift? It is clearly not the engineers nor the technology; in fact, those have only improved over time. Today, engineers are faced with much more than designing and building the infrastructure, as they were before. They compete with politicians for funds, fight for the safety of workers, and protect our environment by adhering to the numerous laws and acts set forth by the government. In the future, we can only expect more costs, longer time periods for projects, and an increase in costs and types of materials. For example, the Bay Bridge, connecting the cities Oakland and San Francisco in California, is a perfect illustration of how engineering techniques and costs change over time. First built in the 1930’s, this bridge became an icon to the Bay Area, and in time, to all of California. Rebuilt more than 80 years later, this bridge was a case of politics, social standards and environmental impacts. The difference in finances and policies clearly changed over time, yet today it stands tall and lit—uniting the two cities.
The results show that the bridge in Case 1 collapsed under 44% of the total applied load with 0.097 inches bending displacement and 0.45 inches buckling displacement, as shown in Figs 10 -11. The bridge collapsed due to the huge lateral movement at the top of the webs, which caused a loss of stability and ability of the webs to carry any load, Figs 12-13. The value of the bending displacement is small compared to the value of the buckling displacement because almost no bending moment was created under this situation, since the webs would not be able to carry the load and transfer it vertically to the bearing support.
The attacks surprised the world. It was the biggest terrorist attack ever on American soil. The twin towers of the World Trade Center were the highest buildings in New York, and famous throughout the world. Their destruction changed the city's skyline and would have a huge impact on the rest of the world’s history.
Fortunately the only loss of life was a dog since the man in the car escaped while unfortunately the dog wouldn't leave so there was no collateral damage from that on October 14, 1950 a new bridge was made to replace it and is currently the fifth largest bridge in the US but fortunately the collapse boosted research on bridge aerodynamics and on July 2007 a second bridge that ran parallel to the first was opened.
We began by researching established truss designs, such as the Bailey bridge, Baltimore bridge and the N truss. We realised that although each type of truss was useful for its own purpose, none of the bridges was intended for supporting a point load. However, we compared the designs by calculating the distribution of forces in the members. This gave some guidance to the development of the model.
There are many different types of bridges, but the most common is the beam bridge. Other types of bridges are the truss bridge, arch bridge, suspension bridge, deck truss bridge, and through truss. The beam bridge has a horizontal beam that is supported by piers or pillars at each end. If the bridge is too long then it becomes quite weak. The truss bridge is made of steel bars and beams placed into triangle formations (Bridge Basics). There are two different types of truss bridges, the deck truss and the through truss. The deck truss has the roadway above the trusses and in the through truss bridge the roadway goes through the trusses (Lamb, Robert). The arch bridge was built by the Romans with stone. Today most arch bridges are built out of steel or concrete and span up to 800 feet. Lastly,
..., which, when put under stress in temperatures below that which was intended, instantly became a break in the bar, throwing all of the weight onto the southern chain, which buckled under the sudden pressure. Post-investigations yielded results showing a poorly maintained bridge, with many cracks and corroded areas, the bridge was bound to have collapsed soon, and regular maintenance could have prevented the disaster.
...wind is an example of a possible disaster under such conditions. There is no bridge which can serve all purposes. For example, the arch bridge (fig.1) and the beam bridge (fig.2) may be unsuitable for very long spans but they are more appropriate for railways and short spans.
When I first started to design my bridge, I began to think of bridges I had seen in real. That did not go so well, with my memory being vague and the bridges that did come to mind being seamlessly impossible to build, off to the internet I went. I was able to find the three main bridge designs; the Pratt, the Howe, and the Warren. To what I saw I decided that the Howe Bridge was the most structurally sound. So we used that as the base of our idea/design. We added our own flare by dispersing vertical supports throughout our structure. We had decided to make the side and of our bridge with balsa wood and make the bottom of it out of Popsicle. We wanted to fortify the bottom, so we turned the Popsicle stick on its side, because it was stronger that way. With our design in hand we were able to calculate the total weight of our structure, which came out to b...