Structures from first principles!
This fourth article in the series on concrete bridges examines the special types of concrete bridge — previous articles described all the cast in place and precast options, Concrete cable-stayed, extradosed and stressed ribbon bridges are all described here, together with the special features of concrete footbridges and railway bridges.
Whilst construction methodology tends not to be an issue in many buildings, the same cannot be said for bridges. Nearly all bridges cannot and should not be designed without good knowledge of its temporary stages and construction methodology4. In most cases it is the construction method that determines the design. In selecting the best scheme, a bridge designer would aim to select a construction method and a bridge layout as they are basically entwined.
Deciding the final choice of a bridge requires serious considerations, and depends important parameters, many of which correlates between construction program, cost and risk.
This is the first post in a series on concrete bridges, the series will discuss in detail the various aspects of concrete bridge design and construction. This post introduces the concept and the key benefits of using concrete for bridges
