The Change Between Suspension Bridges Before 1940 and Suspension Bridges Today
explanatory Essay
1042 words
Suspension bridges were important before 1940 and are still important today. Major cities such as San Francisco, and Manhattan both have a suspension bridge. Suspension bridges are,” a bridge having a deck suspended from cables anchored at their extremities and usually raised on towers” (dictionary.com). Due to the fact that suspension bridges are not completely supported throughout the length of the bridge, past bridges were unsafe. For example, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a suspension bridge opened on July 1st, 1940 (Mark Ketchum). This bridge marked a huge point in suspension bridge safety and engineering, because in collapsed approximately four months after it was opened (Parsons). The collapse caused such a shock, that suspension bridges had to be re-evaluated and re-designed to be safer. Currently, suspension bridges are safe because the collapse of the Tacoma Bridge. Before the Tacoma Bridge collapse in 1940, suspension bridges were not as common as they are now. Engineers at the time saw them as productive and useful for travel and transportation, but saw them as expensive. In Tacoma, Washington, a decision was made to connect the city of Tacoma to Gig Harbor, which was across the vast lake known as Puget Sound (WSDOT). These types of suspension bridges usually had a metal truss running inside the structure, through the length of the bridge that helped to keep the deck of the roadways sturdier. Removing this important piece of metal made the bridge lighter and cut the total cost by $4 million (HistoryLink.org). This caused the Tacoma Bridge to have less resistance towards the wind. During the time that the bridge was upright and handling traffic, it was constantly oscillating. The oscillation was minimal, but enough to... ... middle of paper ... ....org http://www.ketchum.org/tacomacollapse.html, (accessed: March 04, 2014) “Tacoma Narrows Bridge Project.” Parsons. Parson’s Corporation. http://www.parsons.com/projects/pages/tacoma-narrows-bridge.aspx, (accessed: March 04, 2014) “Tacoma Narrows Bridge: The Bridge Machine Since 1950.” Tacoma Narrows Bridge: Washington State Department of Transportation. WSDOT. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/machine/machine5.htm, (accessed: March 04, 2014) “Tacoma Narrows Bridge: Lessons From the Failure of a Great Machine.” Tacoma Narrows Bridge: Washington State Department of Transportation. WSDOT. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/machine/machine3.htm, (accessed: March 04, 2014) “WSDOT – Tacoma Narrows Bridge: Extreme History.” Tacoma Narrows Bridge: Washington State Department of Transportation. WSDOT. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/, (accessed: March 04, 2014)
In this essay, the author
- Explains that suspension bridges were important before 1940 and are still important today.
- Explains that suspension bridges were expensive before the tacoma bridge collapsed in 1940. they had a metal truss running inside the structure to keep the roadways sturdier.
- Explains the basic design of the suspension bridges that were built before 1940. piers were the main foundation, towers provided connection for roadways and wires, and anchorages provided tension support.
- Explains that suspension bridges were designed differently after the tacoma bridge collapse of 1940, but some support systems were added to provide a safer and sturdier design.
- Explains that suspension bridges have been aerodynamically designed to handle high-speed winds and other forces of nature since 1950.
- Explains that suspension bridge designs have been adjusted to compensate for any problems the bridge might be challenged with.
- Cites long, priscilla, "historylink,org- free online encyclopedia of washington state history."
- Explains the history of tacoma narrows bridge by mark ketchum.
- Explains that tacoma narrows bridge: lessons from the failure of a great machine. washington state department of transportation.
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In this essay, the author
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- Explains a cantilever through truss bridge, which is formed by two or more cantilevers placed back to back.
- Illustrates the basic structural pattern found in a bridge. the overall structure of the bridge contains many types of triangles.
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- Explains that the forth bridge is a railway cantilever through truss bridge, used for trains and not cars.
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- Explains the force diagram of a cantilever through truss bridge, which illustrates the tension and compression encountered by the bridge.
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- Explains that the figure above shows a force diagram of the three other types of bridges. red represents compression, while blue represents tension.
1360 wordsRead More