The Mathematics of Framed Bridge

Structures

Scenario
You are a graduate structural engineer working for a major consultancy company that is an acknowledged
world-leader in its field. The company employs 6000 staff and operates from 70 offices in 40 countries
throughout the world and has an annual turnover of some 500 million per year.
You are working within a team of specialist bridge design engineers who are responsible for a large portfolio
of bridges being designed for construction in the UK and in a number of overseas developing countries. You
have been given the task of designing a steel bridge to carry a railway across a major motorway in the South
of England. The form of the bridge will be a triangulated pin-jointed steel truss (see photo 4 below) this
has been determined to be the most appropriate form of bridge chosen from the many different types of
bridge structure used throughout the world.
As part of the initial design process you are required to analyse the proposed bridge and determine the
forces within each of the bridge members. The calculation of these forces will subsequently lead to the
selection of the most appropriate size of steel section for the members and the detailed design of the
connections where the members meet.
In this exercise the learner will apply techniques for the solution of simultaneous equations using methods,
including matrix techniques, that form the basis of the calculations that would be undertaken by the structural
engineer, often now a days carried out using powerful computer software packages.

Importance of Exemplar in Real Life

Bridges range from small structures such as simple footbridges to iconic structures such as the Humber
Bridge which, when opened in 1981, held a 17 year world record for being the longest single span
suspension bridge in the world. Built at a cost in excess of 150m its world record and cost of construction
have since been far exceeded the record for the longest span suspension bridge currently being the
Akashi-Kaiky Bridge in Japan which has a suspended centre span of nearly 2000 metres, although such
records are being continuously broken.
Although the construction of such iconic bridges is often a statement of national pride the decision to
construct any bridge is usually based on social and economic criteria. For example, the construction of the
Humber Bridge provided access to two areas of the UK which were geographically remote and provided the
opportunity for commercial, industrial and tourist development and saved many millions of vehicle miles in
providing a short transit route between both sides of the Humber estuary. Such potential developments and
financial savings are the justification for the huge cost investments made in building bridges throughout the
world although factored into such cost considerations has to be the ongoing cost of maintenance and repair
over the life span of the bridge.
Bridges are constructed in a wide range of materials including masonry, timber, steel, reinforced concrete,
prestressed concrete and composite construction. They are built in a variety of different forms including
simple beams, trusses, arches, suspension, and cable-stayed structures. The choice of material and
structural form depends on a wide range of factors such as the load to be carried including the weight of
vehicles, the span length of the bridge, the construction and maintenance costs, the visual impact and so on.
Whatever the final choice the Structural Engineer makes, either individually or as part of a design team has
an important role to play in ensuring the most appropriate choice of structure and materials and in ensuring
the structural integrity of the bridge during construction and throughout its working life.
Examples of different types of bridges can be seen in figures 1 to 4. Figure 4 illustrates the type of bridge
that we will be considering in this exercise. It is fabricated from structural steel sections to form a bridge
which is simply supported i.e resting and supported on a supporting structure at either end.

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Figure 1: Suspension Bridge

Figure 2: Cable Stayed Bridge

Figure 4: Steel Truss Road Bridge

Figure 3: Reinforced Concrete Bridge

with masonry arch bridge in background

Figure 5: Space Frame Roof Structure

It should be noted that this type of triangulated structure is used not only in bridge construction but also in
many other forms of construction such as the space-frame roof structure shown in figures 5 above.

Background Theory
In analysing the type of bridge structure shown in figure 4 above a number of simplifying assumptions are
made including:

the three dimensional bridge structure is idealised as a two dimensional structural model as shown
in figure 6 below;
the structure is formed from a series of braced triangular frames;
all loads (weight of traffic etc) are transferred to the structure through the nodes or joints i.e where
the members meet and
the only forces in the members are either axial tension forces (putting a member into a state of
tension) or axial compression forces (putting a member into a state of compression)

Applied loads from bridge traffic

Figure 6(a): Two dimensional idealised model of the bridge shown in figure 4

Internal member forces

External loading

Figure 6(b): Single joint taken in isolation showing both internal and external forces

The approach to analysing the structure is to consider the equilibrium of each joint of the structure as show
in figure 6(b) above. The general engineering principle to be applied is that at each joint equilibrium is
assured if the components of all forces acting in (a) the horizontal direction and (b) the vertical direction
summate to zero. In mathematical terms this can be expressed as:
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and

H =0
V = 0

(1)
(2)

The application of these expressions will give two equations which can be solved for two unknown forces.
Hence, if at any joint there are no more than two unknown member forces then there will be two
simultaneous equations that can be solved for the two unknowns.
For example, figure 7(a) below shows a joint connecting two members inclined at 60o and 45o respectively
with an external applied force of 20kN acting in a downwards direction and 10kN acting to the right. The
unknown forces in the two members are shown as F1 and F2 and are shown as acting away from the joint
which is a convention that assumes that the members are acting in tension. If subsequent calculation
indicates that the value of force in either of these members is negative then this indicates that the members
are in compression. Note that, although a rigorous sign convention can be established for both clockwise
and anti-clockwise angles it is best to visualise the problem by sketching the force component diagrams as
shown in figure 7(b).
20kN

20kN

45

60

F1 cos45

10kN

10kN

F2

F1 sin45

F1

F1

F2

F2 sin60

F2 cos60

Figure 7: (a) Forces on a typical (b) Forces resolved into vertical

single joint
and horizontal components
Figure 7(b) shows the two unknown forces resolved into their horizontal and vertical components of force
and the application of equations (1) and (2) will give:

H =0 :
V = 0 :

F1Cos 45 o F2 Cos 60 o + 10 = 0

(3)

F1 Sin 45 o F2 Sin60 o 20 = 0

(4)

Note that the sign convention assumes that when resolving forces vertically all upward forces are positive.
Likewise when resolving horizontally all forces to the right are positive. Equations (3) and (4) can be written
in matrix form as:
Cos 45 o
Sin 45 o

Cos 60 o F1 10
=

Sin60 0 F2 20

(5)

The above represents a pair of simultaneous equations expressed in matrix format and can be solved for the
two unknowns, F1 and F2, using standard matrix inversion techniques.
The above approach lends itself to the systematic solution of all the forces in a typical triangulated frame
providing that at any joint there are no more than two unknown forces. In practice this means starting at a
joint where there are only two unknown forces and, having calculated the two unknown forces at that joint,
transfer the values of the calculated forces to the joints at the far end of each member, thus reducing the
number of unknowns at the far end by one. Once a second joint has been identified as having only two
unknown forces then the procedure can be repeated until all member forces are known.
In the case of more complex triangulated structures it is possible that it can not be analysed in this way
because there are too many members and hence too many unknown forces for sufficient independent
equations to be written down. In such a case the structure is referred to as statically indeterminate and more
sophisticated analytical techniques must be used.
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Questions
Example data (1) : For the joint shown in figure 8 calculate the forces F1 and F2 for the given sets of data
V
H
y
x

F2

1
F1

Figure 8

degrees
30
30
45
30
60

degrees
120
120
90
125
135

H
kN
50
100
200
-50
200

V
kN
-100
-100
-100
-150
-200

F1
kN

F2
kN

Example data (2) : For the crane structure shown in figure 9 calculate all the member forces. Inclined
members are at 45o. For this problem solve joint A and use the solution of F2 from joint A to calculate the
forces at joint B. This can be done as two separate sets of matrix solutions or a large 4x4 matrix can be set
up and solved in terms of the four unknowns F1 to F4. The problem can be repeated for other member
inclinations.
F4

B
F3

F2

45

F1

Figure 9

F2
A

100 kN

Where to find more

Ray Hulse & Jack Cain, Structural Mechanics, 2nd edn, Palgrave, 2000. (ISBN 0-333-80457-0)
2. John Bird, Engineering Mathematics, 5th edn, John Bird, 2007 (ISBN 978-07506-8555-9)
1.

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The Mathematics of Framed Bridge

Structures
INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS
Teachers will need to understand and explain the theory outlined above and have knowledge of:

Some terminology relating to structural design and construction

The concept of vector components of force

Solution of simultaneous equations using matrix techniques

Topics covered from Mathematics for Engineers

Topic 1: Mathematical Models in Engineering
Topic 7: Linear Algebra and Algebraic Processes
Learning Outcomes
LO 01: Understand the idea of mathematical modelling
LO 07: Understand the methods of linear algebra and know how to use algebraic processes
LO 09: Construct rigorous mathematical arguments and proofs in engineering context
LO 10: Comprehend translations of common realistic engineering contexts into mathematics
Assessment Criteria
AC 1.1: State assumptions made in establishing a specific mathematical model
AC 1.2: Describe and use the modelling cycle
AC 7.1: Solve engineering problems using vector methods
AC 7.2: Use matrices to solve two simultaneous equations in two unknowns
AC 9.1: Use precise statements, logical deduction and inference
AC 9.2: Manipulate mathematical expressions
AC 9.3: Construct extended arguments to handle substantial problems
AC 10.1: Read critically and comprehend longer mathematical arguments or examples of
applications
Links to other units of the Advanced Diploma in Construction & The Built Environment
Unit 3
Unit 29
Unit 30
Unit 31

Civil Engineering Construction

Science and materials in construction and the Built Environment
Structural Mechanics
Design

Solution to the Questions

Example data (1) :

degrees
30
30
45
30
60

degrees
120
120
90
125
135

H
kN
50
100
200
-50
200

V
kN
-100
-100
-100
-150
-200

F1
kN
-93.30
-136.60
-282.84
-45.25
-292.82

F2
kN
-61.60
-36.60
100.00
-155.50
75.79

Example data (2) : F1 = -100kN, F2 = 141.42kN, F3= - 141.42kN, F4 = 200kN

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