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Building Bridges

6/26/2016

1 Comment

 
Author: Maddie Van Beek


At one point in your life, you have crossed a bridge. Think about the different bridges you have crossed. Were they arched? Flat? Did they have cables running through them? Were there pillars on both ends or beneath the bridge? While there are many visual and structural varieties, all bridges span a distance to get you from point a to point b. There are five main categories of bridges.


Today, you are going to be an architect! An architect is someone who designs buildings and structures so they are steadily built.  Before you start building, you need to know a little more about the different types of bridges. 

 

Bridge Types

1.  Beam: The beam bridge is the simplest type of bridge. This bridge is stiff, straight, and generally short with two piers or abutments on either end. The beam bridge spans, at most, 250 feet. 
Picture
Image 1: Beam bridge in Iowa City
2. Arch Bridge: Just as the name suggests, this bridge is arched. Similar to the beam bridge, this bridge has two piers or abutments. The curved design allows stress to be distributed along the arch to either end. This design can span up to about 800 feet. ​
Picture
Image 2: Megane Bridge in Nagasaki, Japan
3. Cantilever: The cantilever bridge is more complex than either the beam or arch bridge. From piers, horizontal structures called cantilevers extend and are joined by a third span, or beam bridge, in the middle. Cantilever bridges can span over 1,500 feet.
Picture
Image 3: An early human demonstration of a cantilever bridge
4. Cable Stayed: This bridge, like the suspension bridge, is supported with steel cables. The cables run from the road to a tower, forming an A. The cables are taught and run parallel to one another. The cable stayed design is popular for mid-length bridges, not far over 3,000 feet. ​
Picture
Image 4: The world's longest cable-stayed bridge, located in Vladivostok, Russia.
5. Suspension Bridge: This kind of bridge spans longer than any other type! A suspension bridge is usually between 2,000 and 7,000 feet long. As suggested by the name, the roadway of this bridge is suspended by cables attached to two towers. The supporting cables run horizontally from the tops of the towers to the anchorages, or concrete blocks at either end of the bridge. The suspenders, parallel to one another, run vertically from the supporting cables to the roadway.
Picture
Image 5: Manhattan Bridge in New York
Use the following bridge diagrams as a reference: 
Bridge Diagrams
YOU WILL NEED:

•   Paper/Pencil

•   42 Gum Drops

•   7 Red

•   10 Green

•   8 Yellow

•   9 Orange

•   6 Purple

•   2 White 

•   One bag of toothpicks 

 

Here's what to do!

1.  Partner up with one to three others. 

2.  Assign a runner to get supplies, a time-keeper, and a group leader. 

3.  Design your bridge. Before you start building, you need to plan. You should be able to answer these kinds of questions: 

            a.What kind of bridge will you design? 

            b. Will you rely on one type of bridge, or will you combine two types for a more elaborate design? 

            c. What criteria are you basing your decisions on? Attractiveness? Strength? 

            d. How far will your bridge span? How high do you want your bridge to be? 

4. Use your gumdrops and toothpicks to build a bridge based off of one of the five bridge types. Use your drawing to guide you. 

            a. Once you are finished building, you will be judged based on strength and appearance. 

6.  For the last ten minutes, try building your bridge in silence. All team members must continue to participate. 

7.  Stack pennies on your bridge to see how many it will hold! Have a contest to see who has the strongest bridge. 

 

Follow-up Questions:
  • How well did you work together as a group?
  • How much harder was it when you couldn’t talk?
  • Do you feel like everyone was included in your group?

​
Image Credits:

​Image 1: Jones, D.W. (2006). Steam across Iowa river. Retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/SteamAcrossIowaRiver.JPG/240px-SteamAcrossIowaRiver.JPG

​Image 2: Bulwersator. (2004). Double arch stone bridge, Japan. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_bridge#/media/File:NagasakiMeganebashi.jpg

Image 3: Unknown photographer. (1890). Postcard of Benjamin Baker's human cantilever bridge model. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantilever_bridge#/media/File:Cantilever_bridge_human_model.jpg

​Image 4: Bayakov. (2013). "Russian bridge" in Vladivostok. Retrieved from ​https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/%22Russian_bridge%22_in_Vladivostok.jpg/1280px-%22Russian_bridge%22_in_Vladivostok.jpg

Image 5: Underhill, I. (1909). Manhattan bridge construction 1909. Retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Manhattan_Bridge_Construction_1909.jpg/800px-Manhattan_Bridge_Construction_1909.jpg


References:

List of bridge types. (2016). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridge_types
1 Comment
Eileen Benson link
10/7/2019 10:58:20 am

It was interesting when you explained how beam bridges work. It seems like sensors to monitor the structural health of the bridge would be important due to the large amount of weight the beams have to support. Thanks for sharing this educational info about the different types of bridges!

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