Bridge Engineering
Linking Physics and Mathematics to Engineering
Prof. Subramaniam (“Subby”) D. Rajan, Prof. Narayanan Neithalath and Amie
Baisley
Graduate Students: Kirk Vance, Matt Aguayo, Joseph Harrington and Canio Hoffarth
electrical, computer and energy engineering
20-Jan-2010
Popular Structural Systems
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Buildings
Domes
Dams
Canals/Aqueducts
___________________
Chase One Ballpark
Burj Khalifa
St. Louis Gateway Arch
One World Trade Center
CAP Canal
2
Structural Materials
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___________(Plain, Reinforced, Prestressed)
_________________________________
Timber/Wood
_________________
Reinforced concrete
Steel beams and columns
Wood beams and columns
Concrete masonry blocks
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Bridges in Arizona
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Navajo Bridge, Marble Canyon
_____________:
rock abutments
and mid-span
834 ft long
467 ft above
water
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Roosevelt Dam
_________
• 280 ft tall and 723 ft long
• 1,000,000 acre-feet
_________
• 357 ft tall and 1210 ft long
• 1,653,043 acre-feet
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Roosevelt Dam Bridge
•________________________________________________
• 1,080 ft long
• $__________ million
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SuperRedTan Interchange
4-level
Interchange
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Suspension Bridges
Boyce Arboretum
Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon
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Bridge Basics
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Bridge Basics
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Engineering Design Fundamentals Using
Bridge Design As an Example
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Questions – Level 1
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Q1: Building Materials
– (a) What are the more common building materials?
– (b) Why are there so many different building materials?
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Q2: What is a Bridge?
– (a) How can bridges be classified?
– (b) What are the different parts or components of a bridge?
– (c) Describe some famous bridges in Arizona and the US
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Q3: Bridge Performance
– (a) How are bridges loaded?
– (b) How should bridges perform under these loads?
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Q4: Who designs and constructs bridges?
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Questions – Level 2
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Q5: Building Materials
– (a) What material properties characterize the behavior of a material?
– (b) How are these material properties obtained?
– (c) How do materials fail?
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Q6: What is a bridge?
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(a) How do bridges fail?
(b) What is the lifetime of a bridge?
(c) How are the chances of a failure minimized?
(d) Describe some famous bridge failures.
(e) What are the typical steps in constructing a bridge?
Q7: Bridge Performance
– What is Bridge Management System?
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Bridge Building Competition
Read the MS Word file Bridge Competition Rules and Regulations.docx
before proceeding further
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Bridge Layout
Bridge deck
3”
3”
24"
Approach
road
6"
Approach
road
Abutment
(6” x 6” x 6”)
Abutment
(6” x 6” x 6”)
Elevation View
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Bridge Layout
One or more
columns
Bridge
deck
12”
vertical
direction
distance
above
deck = 6”
distance
below
deck = 6”
24"
Sytrofoam
(1.5” thick)
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Bridge Layout
6"
longitudinal direction
transverse
direction
4”
24"
columns
Plan View
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Bridge Layout
loading
location
6”
L2
12”
L3
18”
4”
6"
24"
L1
L1
L2
L3
Plan View
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Material List for 6 Kits
Material
Specs. for one kit
Home Depot Specifications
Cardboard
24” x 6”
18 in. x 18 in. x 24 in. 65 lb. Large $1.50
Box (Qty: 1)
Wooden
dowels
3/8” dia x 12” long
American Wood Moulding 4 ft. x
3/8 in. Round Hardwood Dowel
(Qty: 9)
$9.00
Steel wire
24 gage (0.58 mm) x
100”
OOK 250 ft. x 24-Gauge
Galvanized Steel Wire (Qty: 1)
$5.00
Zinc washers
5/16” dia
Crown Bolt Flat Washers (Qty: 3)
$9.00
Steel washers
#10
Crown Bolt Flat Washers (Qty: 1)
$5.00
Glue
2-Part Epoxy
Loctite 0.85 fl. oz. Quick Set
Epoxy Gel (Qty: 3)
$18.00
Styrofoam
1.5” thick x 24” x 6”
R-Tech 1-1/2 in. x 2 ft. x 4 ft.
Foam Insulation (Qty: 1)
$6.00
Total: $54=$9/kit
Est.
cost
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Tools Needed
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Gloves
Sharp cardboard cutter or scissors
Pliers
Straight edge
Marker
Saw to cut the dowels into 12” long
Drill (if drilling holes in dowels)
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Engineering Design Process
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Steps in Meeting the Bridge Design Requirements
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Frame the design problem
Research design options
Generate ideas
Use models and build prototypes
Conduct experiments
Troubleshoot and iterate
Communicate
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References
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Do an internet search using these keywords – bridge, bridge engineering,
bridge design, bridge failures
West Point Bridge Design (http://bridgecontest.usma.edu)
Building Big
MatWeb: http://www.matweb.com/
Zhao and Tonias, Bridge Engineering, McGraw Hill Publications.
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