 |
The first step to understanding bridges is to
know what all of the "bridge" terms
mean. Here is the HBG Constructors' glossary of
common bridge terms we think will help you understand
bridges and how they are built.
| A
| B | C
| D | E | F
| G | H | I
| J | K | L
| M | N | O | P
| Q | R | S
| T | U | V
| W | X | Y
| Z |
| Abutment |
(1) The part of a bridge
that supports the end structure and retains
the roadway approach to the bridge.
(2) An anchorage for the cables of a suspension
bridge. |
| Aggregate |
(1)
Any of several hard materials such as sand,
gravel, stone, slag, cinders or other inert
materials used with cement and water to produce
concrete.
(2) Crushed rock or gravel screened to size
for use in road surfaces and asphalt paving
(bituminous) mixes. |
| Asphalt
Concrete |
A hot mixture
of asphalt cement and high quality aggregate,
thoroughly compacted into a uniform, dense
pavement. |
back to top
| Bascule
Bridge |
A draw bridge
having moveable balancing section. |
| Bent |
(1) A group
of 2 or more piles or posts which support
falsework.
(2) Used interchangeably with the word "pier". |
| Bridge |
A structure
built over a drainage channel, a depression
or an obstruction such as waterway, highway
or railway, and having a roadway surface or
track for carrying vehicles or trains. |
back to top
| Caisson |
(1) An air-and-water tight chamber (made
of wood , steel or concrete) in which it
is possible for men to work under air pressure
greater than atmospheric pressure, to excavate
material below water level.
(2) A vertical circular shaft cut into
the earth for a structure’s footing,
which is carried to solid material beneath.
|
| Cast-in-place |
Concrete
that is deposited in the place where it is
required to harden as part of the structure,
as opposed to precast concrete. |
| Cement |
A powdery
substance, used as an ingredient of concrete,
made by burning clay and limestone resulting
in a mixture of silicates and aluminates of
calcium. This term is frequently used erroneously
by the layman when he means concrete, as in
the expression, "Our basement has cement
floors." |
| Cofferdam |
A watertight
enclosure of earth embankment or piles within
which excavation is done for foundations. |
| Concrete |
A composite
material which consists of a binding medium
within which is embedded aggregate; in Portland
cement concrete, the binder is a mixture of
Portland cement and water, and when set, it
attains hardness and strength not unlike stone. |
| Culvert |
(1) A drain
pipe or masonry crossing, under a road or
embankment, made or galvanized corrugated
metal, aluminum plastic or concrete.
(2) Any structure not classified as a bridge,
which provides a waterway or other opening
under a road or highway. |
Back to top
| Deck |
The horizontal
riding surface of a bridge. |
back to top
| Falsework |
The temporary
structure erected to support work during the
process of construction; composed of shoring
or vertical posting and lateral bracing for
supporting cast-in-place concrete. |
| Flange |
The horizontal
top and bottom portions of a girder or I-beam. |
| Footing |
The supporting
base or groundwork of a structure. |
| Formwork |
A temporary
structure or mold for the support of concrete
while it is setting and gaining sufficient
strength to be self-supporting. |
| Foundation |
(1) Subsurface
bridge elements which support a bridge.
(2) The soil or rock upon which a surface
rests. |
back to top
| Girder |
Any heavy,
strong principle horizontal member on which
the weight of a deck is carried; a main beam
(timber, concrete or steel) used for supporting
the superstructure of a bridge. |
back to top
| Lagging |
Steel or
timber sheathing used in underground work
to withstand earth pressure. |
back to top
| Pier |
An intermediate
bridge support on which the superstructure
rests. |
| Pile |
A long slender
timber, concrete or steel structural element
which is driven, or otherwise embedded on
end in the ground for the purpose of supporting
a structure. |
| Post-Tensioning |
A method
of prestressing reinforced concrete in which
steel tendons are tensioned after the concrete
has hardened; also called post-stressing. |
| Precast |
Concrete
that is cast and cured in other than its final
position, such as precast concrete slabs,
beams, columns and piles etc. |
| Prestressing |
Applying
forces to a structure to deform it so that
it will withstand its working loads more effectively
or with less total deflection. Concrete beams
are prestressed to deflect upwards slightly
by an amount equal to their total downward
deflection when loaded. |
| Pre-tensioning |
A method
of prestressing reinforced concrete in which
steel tendons are tensioned before the concrete
had hardened. |
back to top
| Reinforcement |
Steel bars
(reinforcing steel bar or rebar) wires or
other slender members which are embedded in
concrete so that the steel and concrete act
together in resisting forces. |
| Retrofit |
Modification
of an existing structure to incorporate changes
not available at time of original construction. |
| Riprap |
A layer of
large stones, broken rock or precast blocks
placed in random fashion on the slope of an
embankment or on the sides of a channel of
protection against waves and ice. |
back to top
| Sheet
Pile |
Piles, or
sheeting, driven in close contact to form
a continuous interlocking wall which resists
the lateral pressure of water or earth. |
| Slurry
Trench |
A narrow
excavation whose sides are supported by a
slurry made of mud, clay or cement which fills
the excavation. |
| Soffit |
The underside
of any member of a bridge, such as the undersurface
of a beam or slab. |
| Span |
The clear
horizontal distance between superstructure
supports (abutments and piers) of a bridge. |
| Substructure |
The lower
portions of a bridge (abutments and piers)
which support the superstructure. |
| Superstructure |
The
horizontal part of a bridge above the abutments
and piers, which includes the girders and
deck. |
back to top
| Tressel |
A
movable frame or support for anything, as
scaffolding, consisting of three or four legs
secured to a top piece, and forming a sort
of stool or horse, used by carpenters, masons,
and other workmen; also, a kind of framework
of strong posts or piles, and crossbeams,
for supporting a bridge, the track of a railway,
or the like. |
| Truss |
A
rigid framework, as of wooden beams or metal
bars, designed to support a structure. |
back to top
| Web |
The vertical
middle portion of a girder or the middle plate
of an I-beam. |
| Wingwall |
(1) A wall
that guides a stream into a bridge opening
or culvert barrel.
(2) A wall that retains the earth embankment
behind an abutment. |
back to top
|
|
|
|
 |
glossary
of terms |
|
