Bridge paper

The builders could not have imagined that it would be st unfit in exercising over 100 years later its opening (ENDEX applied science 2007). So who were these people who built the straddle? What gave them the energy to construct hotshot of the knowledge bases greatest questions? It can be safely said that in that location were only three people who believed in the meet from start to finish. These were the Roeblings father, watchword, and sons wife. The story of their achievement is the same so while the ease of this paper will dwell on son upper-case letter Roeblings achievements it could just as easily be the story of the other cardinal.Education and concrete Training capital letter Roebling was the son of an impressive man, born May twenty-sixth 1837 in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. Few remember his father which says something about caps accomplishments. His father own a genuinely successful telegram traffic circle business and was a pioneer in the field of bid and b rand cable. As cap grew older, he began to help his father in engineer endeavors. Since wire rope is a superb match for w altogether hanging link up construction with flexibility and a high decadesile strength, the Roeblings did much regulate in this field (Invention grinder 2007).Before entering the army, Washington went to Rensselaer Polytechnic institute in Troy, saucily York. Much like civil engineer big league today, it took him four years to receive his degree, only when it was much more reach on than is pull up stakesed today. The education back in the 1800s was roughlyly on the job training, whereas today com pieceer technologies and weeding out nonconformists through mindless homework picnic a huge role in education. Today modern engineering students, co-ops and internships help provide realistic situations.During the civil struggle, in which Washington Roebling served marvellously as an engineer officer in the 6th New York Calvary, Washington began to mak e a name for himself. He built a 1200 bottom suspension bridge across the Rappahannock River and spent much of his term in a hot station b aloneoon, the civil war version of descent reconnaissance. Before the construction of the Brooklyn connect, tail sent Washington to Europe to strike new methods for the sinking of the open upations. Later in his life, Washington would bestow well-nigh all the credit and knowledge obtained for the Brooklyn Bridge to his father.Knowledge from the army and from his dad were apply in his finishing of the two behemoth granite masonry towers that climbed 276 feet above high water supply over which to suspend wire cables to support a road cxxxv feet at its highest point above the water. This height was needed for ships to pass infra. The bridge would be wide, at 85 feet, and the cables that would support the span would be jump to huge anchorages of 60,000 rafts each (ENDEX technology 2007). The Brooklyn Bridge was an innovative project. board 2 shows all the accomplishments and innovations that are related to the Brooklyn Bridge.Socioeconomic and Political Environments afterward the polished War, Washington returned to the family business, assisting in completing two more suspension bridge over across the Ohio River (Invention Factory 2007). During this duration Washingtons father, John, became interested in twist a bridge across the East River. New York legislators at long last realized the need for a route over the East River and passed a bill for some sort of construction. The largest restriction that the plans for the structure had to abide by was its height over the river, which was set to avoid contact with masts of ships that passes under it.This thinking of a bridge was nothing new. For 60 years, different focuss of linking Brooklyn and New York had been considered (Trachtenberg 1965). Soon, the city of New York set up the basic ferries from Manhattan to Brooklyn in 1812 but more versatile transi t was needed. The Brooklyn Bridge was erected out of economic requirement and urban sprawl (Brooke and Davidson 2006). New York City was a huge in-migration hub. In the mid-1800s, men and women began to emigrate from Europe and many settled in Brooklyn. As a result, many livelyd in boarding houses.Brooklyn at this time consisted mainly of Irish immigrants. Immigrants were paid very poorly considered the work they performed as it was al rooms the most demanding and risky. From 1860 to 1870, Brooklyns population growth was 50 per centum the fastest growing city at the time (Trachtenberg 1965). Manhattan was the opposite of Brooklyn, in that it was primarily a business district in the mid 1800s. virtually 40 percent of wager earners in Brooklyn had jobs in Manhattan. The northeastern glide was a major hub for imports and manu eventuring goods after the Erie Canal was built.At the time the only way to get from Manhattan to Brooklyn was by fairy which was often slow and hampered by storms. victorious the ferries tended to be very dangerous. Plans for a either a bridge or a tunnel over the East River were interrupted by the well-behaved War. Bridges were thought to be impossible as no materials where cognize to be strong enough to support the needed span. Part of the conundrum was that the bridge needed to be high above the channel to allow masted ships to pass beneath it, even at high tide. These lucubrate had proved insurmountable until then.A fleet of ferries shuttled people and goods across the river every day. John Roebling, with his wire rope business and history of successful suspension bridges, had a viable solution (Invention Factory 2007). The Brooklyn Bridge would use trade name in its cables. Good wrought iron breaks at 30 scads where good brace of the same size breaks at 75 tons (2. 5 times stronger) (Hart 1967). While it was not trusted at the time because of its newness, the Roeblings had credence in its strength. At the time, suspensi on bridges were viewed with suspicion.Many had failed in storms or under live loads however, none of the bridges John had built had ever failed. One of the reasons he had succeeded was that he made them very stiff, preventing flexing from wind that would cuss other suspension bridge builders into the next atomic number 6 and most resplendently in the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940, more than 70 years after John. After due debate, the Brooklyn Bridge Company was formed with John Roebling as chief engineer (Invention Factory 2007). One thing that the times modify to the project was a good source of cheap labor.Poor immigrants, mainly Irish, were the ones who worked the most on the bridge. They also took the brunt of the casualties. Approximately 20-30 people died during construction and administration viewed it as necessary and unavoidable. Labor was very manual and at the time workers had very little power in politics. The Irish workers did not enjoy the woof of date, as it coinc ided with the Queens birthday. Technological Context & Construction exposit In December 1849, an accident mangled Roeblings fathers left hand while undergoing testing on the innovative wire rope machinery.This new technology would set this bridge far a vanguard(predicate) of its time, utilizing a braded configuration allowing flexibility and easier handling (Trachtenberg 1965). The Brooklyn Bridge would use steel in its cables. Good wrought iron breaks at 30 tons where good steel of the same size breaks at 75 tons (2. 5 times stronger) (Hart 1967). While steel was not trusted at the time because of its newness, the Roeblings had faith in its strength. At the time, steel or no steel, suspension bridges were viewed with suspicion. Many had failed in storms or under live loads however, none of the bridges John had built had ever failed.One of the reasons he had succeeded was that he made them very stiff, preventing flexing from wind that would plague other suspension bridge builders into the next century and most famously in the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940, more than 70 years after Johns lifetime. Construction was very hazardous at that time, even for chief engineers. At the start of the project, the Brooklyn Bridge Company lost a crucial member. A ferryboat crushed John Roeblings foot when he was on site. After having his toes amputated, during which he declined anesthetic, an infection set in and killed him (ENDEX Engineering 2007).Surprisingly there was little debate over who should succeed him. Washington Roebling was already deep involved with the project so he was appointed successor (Invention Factory 2007). In 1872 disaster struck again. Washington himself was down in the caissons more than any one else. He was suddenly struck with what was called caisson sickness, and is what is modernly called the flex (Invention Factory 2007). This disease was not understood at the time and results from drawn-out exposure to high pressures and then sudden decomp ression, allowing nitrogen bubbles to form in blood and possibly clog them.Washington was not the first to fall ill from the bends, in fact, people had already died of it but work proceeded on. After advance back even though clearly sick, Washington was bedridden, crippled for the proportion of the project. He was only able to stand for 10 minutes at a time when the bridge receptive in 1883 (Smithsonian Associates 2004). Washington remained head engineer giving orders from his bed but the person most macroscopical to visitors at the project was his wife, Emily. She knew just as much about the project as Washington.When a board of enquiry was put together to rise to oust the bedridden head engineer she removed sufficient question from its members for Roebling to stay (Smithsonian Associates 2004). To say she was the head engineer would only be a very slight exaggeration. The towers that supported the span were made out of lime precious stone, granite and concrete. impertinentl y found techniques for making steel made it a cheap, strong metallic element for the suspension cables (Hart 1967). The first order of business was to sink the two giant caissons into the riverbed to support the towers (Figure 1).These were made of 12 x 12 yellow(a) pine beams and weighed by themselves 3000 tons, having 15 foot thick roofs to keep the excavators from getting crushed by the eventually 80,000 tons of rock piled on overtake to make up the Towers. John found a new way to devise a foundation. The caissons were floated into place and then sunk into position, driven descending(prenominal) by the towers on top and crews underneath removing the actual riverbed (ENDEX Engineering 2007). Once they reached solid ground the caissons would be wield full of secure and serve as a perfect foundation. They were undoubtedly the most dumb and difficult part of the bridge construction.Excavation methods consisted of shovel, pick, wheelbarrow, steel bar stone breakers, winches, a nd ten ton hydraulic jacks, eventually blasting after Washington Roebling conducted a series of experiments in the caisson. Initial rate of caisson excavation and saturnine produced 6 inches per week, with a workforce of 360 people constructing the bridge (Trachtenberg 1965). Compressed air was used in the caissons to keep the water out, and the deeper they got (78 feet on the New York side, 45 feet on the Brooklyn side) the higher the pressure needed (ENDEX Engineering 2007). This was dangerous in more way than one.Fires could be catastrophic, and occasionally there would be a blowout that subsequently would allow water back in. The largest of these air releases blew rocks and bog down 500 feet into the air in 1870. Fires, from using dynamite, were the worst however. One was found smoldering in the 15 feet of wood under the Brooklyn Caisson, fed by compressed air (ENDEX Engineering 2007). Eventually some timbers were replaced and the rest of the holes were pumped full of grout. T he New York caisson was stopped after 78 feet not because it had reached rock but because conditions had become intolerable.As a result, to this day it rests on common sense surprisingly stable (ENDEX Engineering 2007). The Brooklyn and New York Towers were completed in 1875 and 1876 severally (ENDEX Engineering 2007). The cables were strung after the completion of the towers. Perhaps the greatest hap struck in the middle of this. A cable snapped, killing two men, and it was found to be very substandard (ENDEX Engineering 2007). Incidentally, the contractor who supplied the steel cable was not John Roeblings Sons Co, which at the time was owned exclusively by Washingtons brothers. The cables were flawed.Eventually, the wire in all the cables, including 1520 suspenders and 400 diagonal stays, was approximately 3600 miles long (ENDEX Engineering 2007). Personal Characteristics Washington fought in the civil war both on the ground as a military observer from hot air balloons. Washin gton served at Gettysburg with distinction on Little Round Top and was at the siege of Richmond (Invention Factory 2007). He became very noble and selfless, though assertive at times, during the Civil War. Perhaps the most important part of his war career, however, was that he met his wife to be, Emily Warren, because he served under her brother, General G.K. Warren (ENDEX Engineering 2007). He ended the war at the rank of a Colonel. After the war he helped his father build the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge (now called John A. Roebling fault Bridge) before the Brooklyn Bridge. Despite many the huge hurdles of the Brooklyn Bridge project, among which was the fact that Washington became horribly sick and bedridden for most of the actual building from decompression sickness when the huge caissons for the twin towers were sunk in the Hudson riverbed (hence the traditional term caisson sickness), he managed to oversee all stages of its construction.He did this only with the help of his wife Emily Warren Roebling, who almost every day visited the site and reported to him and who some felt built the bridge herself (The commodious Engineers, 1967). The Brooklyn Bridge was opened May 24th 1883 by the president of the join States U. S. Grant, to fireworks and one cent ticket passes to cross. Apparently it was a great reliever to Washington Roebling as his health began to slowly improve.After the completing this engineering marvel in 1883, Washington lived a relatively quiet life, mostly as a result of being still partially crippled from his illness, and when his wife died in 1903 he remarried in 1908. He spent much of his time collecting minerals, which was his one great following, eventually having 16,000 specimens and ending up in the Museum of Natural Historys mineral and gem collection (Smithsonian Associates 2004). This hobby added balance to his life and probably kept him from accomplishing very much else as it took so much of his time.He outlived his wife Em ily and remarried. He became president of his fathers company, John Roeblings Sons, in 1921 at the age of 79. He brought incredible energy to the position, modernizing the manufactory with electricity and adding a galvanized wire section. The business prospered under his leadership until 1926, when Washington Roebling died. When one has hobbies such as athletics help keeps a powerful time management of school work and fun down time. College is one of the few times were one can have fun.There is a time and place to enjoy your hobbies but to enjoy these hobbies one must put in an honest days work. Conclusion When the Brooklyn Bridge opened to traffic on May 24th 1883, it was one of the grandest engineering marvels of that century in North America. The construction was composed of many firsts. Despite unbounded setbacks, including the untimely death of the original designer of the plan, John A. Roebling, and the crippling of his son, Washington Roebling, who succeeded him in the chi ef engineer duties it, was finished in 14 years, having been commenced January 2, 1870.At the time of completion it was 50% longer than any other suspension bridge, it was the first to use steel cables, much stronger than hemp or cast iron previously used. The towers that supported the four main cables (each of which supports a total dead(p) & live load of about 6 million pounds) for the span were the largest stone and masonry objects of their kind rising approximately 276 feet above the high water curb (Smithsonian Associates 2004). The challenges of this are hard to fathom in todays realness of reinforced concrete.