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There are many factors to consider in this question and many types of bridge structure.

The structure of a bridge is designed to resist the expected loads that will act on it.

The main loads that usually act on a bridge are:

- gravity (an acceleration downwards towards the centre of the Earth) on the bridge itself,

- gravity on any objects on the bridge,

- wind loads on the bridge ( can be in any direction but depends on exposure)

- earthquake loads

The loads experienced by the bridge in an earthquake can be as strong as or stronger than gravity (9.8ms-2), and act in many directions changing rapidly.

A bridge designed to resist these therefore needs to have a structure that can resist significant forces in many directions, (to picture these forces it may help to imagine a model of the bridge being tossed from hand to hand, twisted and shaken), or it can be isolated from the earthquake forces by allowing the earth to move up down and around while the bridge sits quietly.

If we look at the example of a simple suspension bridge for one person to walk over, made from some steel cables and wire mesh:

- it is light and will not need to resist huge forces (Force= mass.acceleration),

- it has the advantage of the elasticity of the steel,

- it has the disadvantage that if it is not under much tension ( ie. has slack cables), these may be snapped rapidly in different directions in an earthquake, (picture a whip being used) which will put big loads on them.

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13y ago

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