Constructing Car Bridge Types from Rahel
Beam bridges are one of the simplest support structures that create a span over open space in use today. The stringer design incorporates a pier or abutment at each end with the deck resting on simple supports which travel across each side. Extended bridges using this design may use multiple piers to support the weight of the passenger traffic that occurs above.
The arch bridge is one of the most popular types of bridges, which came into use over 3000 years ago and remained in height of popularity until the industrial revolution and the invention of advanced materials enabled architects to create other modern bridge designs. However, even today arch bridges remain in use, and with the help of modern materials, their arches can be built on much larger scales.
Masonry arch bridges, which have a very long history, and more recent landmark bridges, such as Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia and the Tyne Bridge in England, are all ‘thrust arches’ and rely on horizontal restraint from the foundations. In many cases, such ‘external’ restraint is not feasible or practical but it can be replaced by a tie between the ends of the arch, thus creating a ‘tied-arch’. This article describes the features and behaviour of tied-arch structures.
truss bridge, bridge with its load-bearing structures composed of a series of wooden or metal triangles, known as trusses. Given that a triangle cannot be distorted by stress, a truss gives a stable form capable of supporting considerable external loads over a large span. Trusses are popular for bridge building because they use a relatively small amount of material for the amount of weight they can support. They commonly are used in covered bridges, railroad bridges, and military bridges.