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MEC30 - Introduction

The document introduces different types of bridge designs throughout history, from stone and wood bridges to modern beam, cantilever, truss, and suspension bridges. It then focuses on movable bridges like bascule, vertical-lift, and horizontal-swing bridges, which allow boats to pass underneath. A special type of movable bridge called the rolling bridge is highlighted, with its unique design of triangular parts and hydraulic cylinders allowing it to curl up or down to let boats pass or for pedestrian use. The document analyzes the engineering and economic aspects of the rolling bridge design.

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soontobengineer
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71 views

MEC30 - Introduction

The document introduces different types of bridge designs throughout history, from stone and wood bridges to modern beam, cantilever, truss, and suspension bridges. It then focuses on movable bridges like bascule, vertical-lift, and horizontal-swing bridges, which allow boats to pass underneath. A special type of movable bridge called the rolling bridge is highlighted, with its unique design of triangular parts and hydraulic cylinders allowing it to curl up or down to let boats pass or for pedestrian use. The document analyzes the engineering and economic aspects of the rolling bridge design.

Uploaded by

soontobengineer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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I.

INTRODUCTION AND ITS BACKGROUND


Bridges have been a symbol of trade, architecture and engineering before. They
use it as a link between people, communities and nations. Bridges have been
significant to the lives of the people and because of this, they come up with different
designs just to improve them. These bridge designs, however, are dependent to the
nature of terrain to where it is proposed to be constructed. Before, architects and
engineers have considered different materials like stones, woods and vines to create
strong and long-term type of bridges.
With the start of the Industrial Revolution, new bridge designs were invented by
the people, as new and improved materials were offered in the market. Steels and
irons were now commonly used in bridges that are connected through large screws
and by welding process. This is because they have high tensile strengths which can
carry and support large loads. One of the most classic approach in terms of bridge
design is to provide a sustainable, convenient and economic type of bridge for public
use. The most common type of bridge designs today are beam bridges, cantilever
bridges, truss bridges and suspension bridges. But with the fast improvement of
technology nowadays, some architects and engineers have combined bridge design
and technology mechanically. These type of bridges are called movable bridges.
When the topography of a bridge site is desirable to have a roadway close to the
surface of the body of water, across a bridge, the vertical under-clearance
requirements for the navigation passing beneath the bridge may require a movable
bridge. This allows any water vessel to pass through without any close contact to the
members of the bridge. Some common types of movable bridges established at
present are bascule bridges, vertical-lift bridges and horizontal-swing bridges.
However, constructing these type of bridges depends largely on the average
horizontal and vertical clearance of water vessels. Whether the proposed type of
bridge design is a low-level movable bridge or a high-level fixed bridge, a careful
economic study should be conducted considering the given situation of the site.
Through this paper, the students introduce another type of movable bridge called
the Rolling Bridge designed by the British designer, Thomas Heatherwick. It was
constructed last 2004 for the grand development of the Grand Union Canal office
and retail project. At present, this rolling bridge is the only one of its type known to
be in existence. The unique design of its individual triangular parts, along with
concealed hydraulic cylinders, allows the bridge to curl up to let boats pass through
the inlet, or remain curled down to allow pedestrians a safe path across the water.
This paper also provides an economical study for this type of bridges as it
discusses how convenient, sustainable and economical the bridge is, in terms of its
engineering designs. It also shows how this type of designs can still carry and

support loads considering the innovative mechanical approach applied given the
bridges site situation. Lastly, this paper also focuses on scrutinizing as well as to
suggest additional ideas and recommendations for the better improvement of the
Rolling Bridge in Paddington Basin, London.

References
Heatherwick Studio. (2015, December 17). Retrieved from The Heatherwick Studio
Projects: http://www.heatherwick.com/rolling-bridge/
Jensen, J. (2008). History of Bridges - A Philatelic Review. 1-8.
Kumaran, T. S. (2014, March). The Constructor. Retrieved from History of Bridges:
http://theconstructor.org/structures/history-of-bridges/5491/
Portman. (2015). The Portman Marylebone. Retrieved from The Rolling Bridge Travel Guide: http://www.theportmanmarylebone.com/rolling-bridge
Wikipedia. (2015, December 15). Retrieved from The Rolling Bridge - Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Bridge

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