structures
In this illustration we have:
1º Foundation: Made of reinforced concrete that supports all the weight.
2º Columns: They transmit the building's weight to the foundations.
3º Primary beam and secondary beam are arranged to support the floor ( Blue area )
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Structural Elements
4º Arch: Like a single beam bridge, the arch transfers the load to the Foundations.
Think that each structural element of an arch is either joined by screws or welding. So, what about the roman archedbridge?
Have a look at the next image.
In the keystone at the top end is bigger than the rest so the stone never falls and the arc is formed.
The weight is shared by the stone lateral faces that support compression, until it reaches the foundations.
Suspension bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle such as a river or two pieces of land separated by the sea. The
first bridges were simple wooden beams, but nowadays they are complicated structures.
A suspension bridge is a type of suspension structure. There are several beams which are hold by dozens of steel
wires.
They could have 2 or more Columns, which support all the weight. The space between two columns is called Span.
This type of structure is very good for covering large distances (large span ) but are very expensive.
