The arch bridge is composed by an arch, a member shaped and supported in such a way that loads are transmitted to the supports primarily by axial compression in the arch rib.
Because compression is the major behaviour of this type of schemes, materials like stones and bricks are perfect for these bridges. The first arch bridge was built in 1300 BC (Mycenaean Arkadiko Bridge, Greece).
There various applications Continue reading
This post will focus on the Truss bridge type.
The Truss bridge is simply a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss. A truss may be defined as a triangulated assembly of straight members. These members can be either in tension, compression or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. With bending being the worst action for materials and with the truss bridge elements working in tension/compression, this scheme is economical to construct, owing to its efficient use of materials.
The strength of a truss relies essentially on Continue reading
In the previous post the type of loads on bridges were discussed. This time the focus is on the structural schemes.
A basic list includes:
The major feature of a beam bridge or girder bridge is the Continue reading
The first article of the blog is dedicated to loads. The primary function of a bridge is to support loads, for example a truck that has to cross a valley. For this reason, the truck load can be defined as a primary load.
A list of loads includes:
In next articles I’ll try to go more in details with all of them. For the moment, let’s keep it simple and close here the post.
Eng. Francesco Salvatore Onorio
Bridges Engineers 
