The Arch Bridge - Science | HowStuffWorks

After more than 2,000 years of architectural use, the arch continues to feature prominently in bridge designs and with good reason: Its ... HealthScienceHome&GardenAutoTechCultureMoneyLifestyleEntertainmentAdventureAnimalsQuizzesSubmitSearchSignupforourNewsletter!MobileNewsletterbannerclose​HowStuffWorksNewsletterMobileNewsletterchatcloseMobileNewsletterchatdotsMobileNewsletterchatdotsMobileNewsletterchatdotsMobileNewsletterchatavatarMobileNewsletterchatsubscribeHealthScienceHome&GardenAutoTechCultureMoneyLifestyleEntertainmentAdventureAnimalsQuizzes MoreMoreMoneyLifestyleEntertainmentAdventureAnimalsQuizzesPrevNEXTAdvertisementHowStuffWorksScienceEngineeringCivilEngineering HowBridgesWork PrevNEXT By:RobertLamb,MichaelMorrissey&PatrickJ.Kiger  |  Updated:Nov12,2021ShareContentonTwitterShareContentonFacebookShareContentonLinkedInShareContentonFlipboardShareContentonRedditShareContentviaEmailTheArchBridge ThePontduGardaqueduct,whichcrossestheriverGardonnearthetownofVers-Pont-du-GardinsouthernFrance,isasoldastheChristianreligion. Dukas/UniversalImagesGroup/GettyImagesAftermorethan2,000yearsofarchitecturaluse,thearchcontinuestofeatureprominentlyinbridgedesignsandwithgoodreason:Itssemicircularstructureelegantlydistributescompressionthroughitsentireformanddivertsweightontoitstwoabutments,thecomponentsofthebridgethatdirectlytakeonpressure.Tensionalforceinarchbridges,ontheotherhandisvirtuallynegligible.Thenaturalcurveofthearchanditsabilitytodissipatetheforceoutwardgreatlyreducestheeffectsoftensionontheundersideofthearch.AdvertisementButaswithbeamsandtrusses,eventhemightyarchcan'toutrunphysicsforever.Thegreaterthedegreeofcurvature(thelargerthesemicircleofthearch),thegreatertheeffectsoftensionontheundersideofthebridge.Buildabigenougharch,andtensionwilleventuallyovertakethesupportstructure'snaturalstrength.Whilethere'safairamountofcosmeticvarietyinarchbridgeconstruction,thebasicstructuredoesn'tchange.Thereare,forexample,Roman,BaroqueandRenaissancearches,allofwhicharearchitecturallydifferentbutstructurallythesame.Itisthearchitselfthatgivesitsnamesakebridgeitsstrength.Infact,anarchmadeofstonedoesn'tevenneedmortar.TheancientRomansbuiltarchbridgesandaqueductsthatarestillstandingtoday.Thetrickypart,howeverisbuildingthearch,asthetwoconvergingpartsofthestructurehavenostructuralintegrityuntiltheymeetinthemiddle.Assuch,additionalscaffoldingorsupportsystemsaretypicallyneeded.ModernmaterialssuchassteelandprestressedconcreteallowustobuildfarlargerarchesthantheancientRomansdid.Modernarchestypicallyspanbetween200and800feet(61and244meters),butWestVirginia'sNewRiverGorgeBridgemeasuresanimpressive1,700feet(518meters)[source:NOVA].Previous1…234567…8910111213NextPage​ CiteThis! Pleasecopy/pastethefollowingtexttoproperlycitethisHowStuffWorks.comarticle:Copy RobertLamb,MichaelMorrissey&PatrickJ.Kiger "HowBridgesWork" 1April2000.HowStuffWorks.com. 4March2022 Close Print | CitationGamesCanYouSolveThisRiddle?TryOurCrosswordPuzzles!CanYouSolveThisRiddle?MoreAwesomeStuffAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement