Title: How it Works: Engineering Bridges to Handle Stress
Headings: How it Works: Engineering Bridges to Handle Stress
How it Works: Engineering Bridges to Handle Stress
The gravity dilemma
Beam Bridge
Arch Bridge
Suspension Bridge
Cable-stayed bridge
Truss bridge
Cantilever bridge
The Rolling Bridge, London
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Newcastle
Stressors beyond gravity
Changing loads
Environmental forces
Accidents and other unexpected events
Conclusion

Content: Earthquakes. Seismic forces cause bridge sections to shake and crash into each other, which can make them crumble. Designers include dampers to absorb vibrations and bumpers to keep sections from banging into each other on bridges in active earthquake zones. Hurricanes and other major storms can have devastating effects on exposed areas of bridges. Construction teams often install protective equipment around vulnerable sections, such as utility infrastructure. Ice, cold, and blizzards. Cold weather and freezing conditions cause contraction on certain bridge elements. Thawing can have the opposite effect. The impacts of expansion and contraction have been exacerbated in today’s more extreme climate conditions. Engineers account for this by incorporating more responsive and flexible components into bridges constructed in cold places.