Truss Bridges

Intro; A bridge is a structure that is built over a river, road, or railway to allow people and vehicles to cross from one side to the other. (CambridgeDictionaryOnline.com) Bridges come in many different shapes sizes and designs. However there multiple different categories of bridges ranging from Arch bridge, Truss bridge, Cantilever bridge, Cable-Stayed bridge, Beam bridge and Suspension bridge, All ranging with different designs. All of the different bridge designs are made to withstand a specific amount of weight. A bridge supports weight when the base of the bridge is made out of strong and good material to support the long span. Bridges can hold heavy loads because of the constant pulling and pushing force of each part of the bridge. This form of force is commonly known as Compression and tension Compression being a compressive force that acts to compress or shorten the thing it is acting on. Tension …show more content…
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements (typically straight) which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges. (ojhsbridges.weebly.com)The frame of the truss bridge is made up with Trusses (triangles) as triangles are the strongest shape because the load is evenly held at each point of the triangle and the weight is compressed outwards along the diagonals of the triangle. The truss bridge has support at each end of the bridge, it may also rest on peirs in between. However its structure gives it more strength. There are 15 different designs of Truss Bridges; Howe truss, Camel back Truss, Warren truss, Fink truss, Double Intersection Pratt truss, Warren (with verticals) truss, Browsing truss, Baltimore truss, Double Intersection Warren truss, Waddell ‘A’ truss, Pennsylvania truss and Lattice truss. Each consisting of