| 1. |
Abutments:
supports at the end of an arch bridge that carry the load
and keep the ends from spreading out.
|
| 2. |
Spandrels:
vertical supports of an arch bridge used to distribute the
weight of the roadway to the arch below.
|
| 3. |
Anchorages:
securing devices that are embedded in the solid rock or
massive concrete blocks that spread cables over a large area
to evenly distribute the load and prevent the cables from
breaking free.
|
| 4. |
Span:
the distance between two bridge supports
|
| 5. |
Compression:
a force that acts to compress or shorten the thing it is acting
on.
|
| 6. |
Tension:
a force that acts to expand or lengthen the thing it is acting
on.
|
| 7. |
Buckling:
what happens when the force of compression overcomes an object's
ability to handle compression
|
| 8. |
Snapping:
what happens when tension overcomes an object's ability
to handle tension.
|
| 9. |
Dissipate:
to spread force over a greater area so that no one spot has
to bear the brunt of the concentrated force
|
| 10. |
Transfer:
to move force from an area of weakness to an area of strength
|
| 11. |
Truss:
supporting lattice work added to create very tall beams
that add rigidity to an existing beam greatly increasing its
ability to dissipate the compression and tension
|
| 12. |
Torsion:
a rotational or twisting force
|
| 13. |
Deck-stiffening
trusses: a supporting truss system beneath the bridge
deck.
|
| 14. |
Resonance:
a fatal force to a bridge that is a vibration caused by an
extended force that is in harmony with the natural vibration
of the original thing. Resonance vibrations travel through
a bridge in waves.
|
| 15. |
Dampeners:
a technique used to interrupt the resonant waves.
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