Girder bridge

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Girder bridge
GirderBridge2.jpg
Two different girder bridges. The top is a plate girder bridge, while the bottom is a concrete girder bridge.
Ancestor Beam bridge
Related Trestle bridge, truss bridge, moon bridge
Descendant Box girder bridge, Plate girder bridge
Carries Pedestrians, automobiles, trucks, light rail, heavy rail
Span rangeShort, Medium
Material Iron, wood, concrete
MovableNo
Design effortlow
Falsework requiredNo

A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. [1] The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box.[ citation needed ]

Contents

The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge design. [2] [3] [4] [5] However, some authors define beam bridges slightly differently from girder bridges. [6]

A girder may be made of concrete or steel. Many shorter bridges, especially in rural areas where they may be exposed to water overtopping and corrosion, utilize concrete box girder. The term "girder" is typically used to refer to a steel beam. In a beam or girder bridge, the beams themselves are the primary support for the deck, and are responsible for transferring the load down to the foundation. Material type, shape, and weight all affect how much weight a beam can hold. Due to the properties of the second moment of area, the height of a girder is the most significant factor to affect its load capacity. Longer spans, more traffic, or wider spacing of the beams will all directly result in a deeper beam. In truss and arch-style bridges, the girders are still the main support for the deck, but the load is transferred through the truss or arch to the foundation. These designs allow bridges to span larger distances without requiring the depth of the beam to increase beyond what is practical. However, with the inclusion of a truss or arch the bridge is no longer a true girder bridge.

History

Girder bridges have existed for millennia in a variety of forms depending on resources available. The oldest types of bridges are the beam, arch and swing bridges, and they are still built today. These types of bridges have been built by human beings since ancient times, with the initial design being much simpler than what we utilize today. As technology advanced the methods were improved and were based on the utilization and manipulation of rock, stone, mortar and other materials that would serve to be stronger and longer.

In ancient Rome, the techniques for building bridges included the driving of wooden poles to serve as the bridge columns and then filling the column space with various construction materials. The bridges constructed by Romans were at the time basic but very dependable and strong while serving a very important purpose in social life.

As the Industrial Revolution came and went, new materials with improved physical properties were utilized; and wrought iron was replaced with steel due to steel's greater strength and larger application potential.

Design

All bridges consist of two main parts: the substructure, and the superstructure. The superstructure is everything from the bearing pads, up - it is what supports the loads and is the most visible part of the bridge. The substructure is the foundation which transfers loads from the superstructure to the ground. Both must work together to create a strong, long-lasting bridge.

The superstructure consists of several parts:

A concrete girder bridge pier during construction prior to installation of the bridge deck and parapets, consisting of multiple angled pylons for support (bottom), a horizontal concrete cap (center), and girders (top) with temporary wood bracing Poinciana Parkway RCMB bridge construction 4.jpg
A concrete girder bridge pier during construction prior to installation of the bridge deck and parapets, consisting of multiple angled pylons for support (bottom), a horizontal concrete cap (center), and girders (top) with temporary wood bracing

The substructure is made of multiple parts as well:

Types of girders

The stubs at the eastern end of the Dunn Memorial Bridge give a good cross section of girder bridge construction Dunn Memorial Bridge Supports.jpg
The stubs at the eastern end of the Dunn Memorial Bridge give a good cross section of girder bridge construction

See also

Related Research Articles

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Beam bridges are the simplest structural forms for bridge spans supported by an abutment or pier at each end. No moments are transferred throughout the support, hence their structural type is known as simply supported.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plate girder bridge</span> Type of bridge

A plate girder bridge is a bridge supported by two or more plate girders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falsework</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tied-arch bridge</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box girder</span> DEEN

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locke Avenue Bridge</span> Bridge in Swedesboro, New Jersey

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deck (bridge)</span> Surface of a bridge

A deck is the surface of a bridge. A structural element of its superstructure, it may be constructed of concrete, steel, open grating, or wood. Sometimes the deck is covered by a railroad bed and track, asphalt concrete, or other form of pavement for ease of vehicle crossing. A concrete deck may be an integral part of the bridge structure or it may be supported with I-beams or steel girders.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godavari Arch Bridge</span> Bridge in India

The Godavari Arch Bridge is a bowstring-girder bridge that spans the Godavari River in Rajahmundry, India. It is the latest of the three bridges that span the Godavari river at Rajahmundry. The Havelock Bridge being the earliest, was built in 1897, and having served its full utility, was decommissioned in 1997. The second bridge known as the Godavari Bridge is a truss bridge and is India's third longest road-cum-rail bridge crossing a water body.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adomi Bridge</span> Bridge in Eastern Region, Ghana

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balloon flange girder</span>

A balloon flange girder or (colloquially) balloon topper is a form of vertical I-beam wrought iron plate girder, where the top flange, instead of being a simple flat plate, is extended into a hollow tube. When a girder is subjected to a positive bending moment the top flange acts in compression making a flat plate flange more susceptible to local buckling than the balloon flange is.

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The Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge is a covered bridge in Wolcott, Vermont. Built in 1908, it originally carried the St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad line over the Lamoille River. Now closed, it was the last covered bridge in Vermont to carry railroad traffic, and is a rare surviving example in the state of a double Town lattice truss. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thetford Center Covered Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Thetford Center Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge, carrying Tucker Hill Road across the Ompompanoosuc River in Thetford, Vermont. It is the state's only known example of the Haupt patent truss system. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

References

  1. "Girder Bridge" (PDF). Argentina: National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  2. Design Technology. "Beam Bridges".
  3. Nova . "Bridge the Gap", section "Beam Bridge".
  4. Robert Lamb and Michael Morrissey. "How Bridges Work".
  5. Ohio Department of Transportation. "Bridge Terms Definitions" Archived 2015-01-25 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Leonardo Fernandez Troyano. "Bridge Engineering: A Global Perspective". 2003.
  7. "American Wide Flange Beams - W Beam". www.engineeringtoolbox.com.