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

Case study on the design of a modern-day Civil Engineering project - Essay ExampleThe bridge is a natural expression of morphologic engineering and architecture but a city center footbridge is equally about pot and the environment in short a piece of public architecture. The bridge gives the pedestrians unique ascertains of London, free from profession and high above the Thames. In September 1996, a competition was organized by a London- ground composition the Financial Times and London Borough of Southwark to design a sunrise(prenominal) Footbridge across the River Thames. The idea crumb 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), raise (architect) and Sir Anthony Caro (Sculptor). The height restrictions and the view behind the bridge required an in advance(p) design w hich was provided in the form of a design which included some unusual practices the suspension design had supporting cables below the deck level. This progressive 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 apparent 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 modify cable profile derived tension. This allows a light bridge deck structure. A modular design in which several structural members and components open fire be repeated in the structure, thus reducing the fabrication costs. This can besides simplify the maintenance after the construction and allows easy execution of the construction phase. The distribution of the forces on the foundations should be much(prenominal) that they do not disturb the existing structures on the nort h bank and also the foundations of the existing bridges. The aesthetics of the bridge at night 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 bandage designing a bridge at such a location. A major issue was the provision 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 trio spans of the bridge have different lengths. The middle span which lies between the two piers i s 144m foresightful. The north span is 81m long while the south span is 108m in length. Fabricated steel box sections which are known as the transverse arms span between the two