Friday, June 17, 2011

Statics and Bridges

We have covered enough material in statics for the students to appreciate the structural analyses required for three unique bridges that cross the Guadalquivir. Monday, we all took the city bus for a tour of the bridges. More images here.

Triana Bridge

The Triana bridge was completed in 1852. At that time, it was the only bridge to span the Guadalquivir from Sevilla to its mouth on the Atlantic at Cadiz, over 200 km. It replaced a wooden boat bridge that dated back to 1171 and the Moors. From an engineering perspective, the Triana bridge is interesting because of the combined use of an arch with braced, circular structural elements.

Barqueta Bridge

The Barqueta Bridge also spans the Guadalquivir and was completed in 1992 for the '92 Expo. The single arch over the 180m span and the cable stayed road bed form an aesthetically pleasing and structurally efficient design. Both artists and engineers can appreciate this bridge.

Alamillo Bridge

The 200m Alamillo Bridge is the most distinctive of the Sevilla bridges across the Guadalquivir. Instead of cable stays to a supporting arch, the Almallio utilizes a huge counterbalancing inclined column. This is visually distinctive but probably not the most efficient from a strictly engineering point of view.

Riverside Art

The walls along the riverside walkway have been given up to the graffiti artists. The creativity and quality of much of it is amazing.

1 comment:

  1. The real-life educational experiences that you have shared with your students are priceless. If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine how invaluable your fieldtrips are for your students. Gracias!

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