Case study on the design of a contemporary Civil Engineering project Essay - 1

Case study on the design of a coetaneous Civil Engineering project - Essay ExampleThe bridge is a natural expression of structural engineering and architecture but a urban center center footbridge is equally about people and the environment in short a piece of public architecture. The bridge gives the pedestrians unique views of London, free from traffic and high above the Thames. In September 1996, a competition was organized by a London-based newspaper the Financial Times and London Borough of Southwark to design a new Footbridge across the River Thames. The idea behind the competition was to get the best design in every aspect therefore the teams participating in the design were structured to have an engineer, an architect and an artist. More than 200 teams participated and the competition was won by Arup (engineer), Foster (architect) and Sir Anthony Caro (Sculptor). The height restrictions and the view behind the bridge unavoidable an progressive design which was provided i n the form of a design which included some unusual practices the good luck design had supporting cables below the deck level. This innovative design was given the name blade of light by its designers. The structure of the Millennium Bridge is innovative and complex but it has been designed to achieve an likely simple form. The design of the Millennium Bridge is based on the following considerations An evolved support system in which the majority of the bridge stiffness is created by school cable profile derived tension. This allows a light bridge deck structure. A modular design in which several structural members and components can be restate in the structure, thus reducing the fabrication costs. This can also simplify the maintenance after the construction and allows easy execution of the construction phase. The distribution of the forces on the foundations should be such that they do not disturb the existing structures on the north bank and also the foundations of the existing bridges. The aesthetics of the bridge at iniquity were also a big concern and a light pipe system illumination was proposed to create a blade of light across the river at night. The river traffic analysis is also important succession designing a bridge at such a location. A major issue was the cooking of planning advice for gaining the necessary approvals to construct a new river crossing in the heart of London. Moreover ways of generating the finances for the bridge were also to be considered while designing the bridge. Superstructure Design The bridge design is a shallow suspension bridge in which the view behind the bridge is facilitated by keeping the suspension cables below the bridge deck. The bridge is supported on two river piers through two groups of four 120mm diameter locked coil cables which span from one bank to the other. The leash spans of the bridge have different lengths. The middle span which lies between the two piers is 144m long. The north span is 81m long while the south span is 108m in length. assumed steel box sections which are known as the transverse arms span between the two