Jorge Bernabeu Profile picture
May 11 31 tweets 15 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
How are TRUSS BRIDGES similar to @LEVIS jeans?

A thread to appreciate 19th-century truss bridges,
practical and versatile like a good pair of jeans.
#TrussBridges
🧵👖 Shoreham Railroad Bridge, J...Image
A truss is a structural frame of straight members, connected by joints, forming triangles.

The members work in compression (red bars) or in tension (blue bars) with almost no bending.

It's the most common structure used in 19th-century railway bridges. Image
In many cases, the thrill of the crossing can be enjoyed from the window seat.

The train runs inside the truss, through the triangulated structural tube. Image
In the middle of the 19th-century, the American railway construction was in full swing.

At this time, Levi Strauss moves to San Francisco to open his wholesale business selling work clothing and cotton trousers. Image
But the history of truss bridges begins earlier.

Wood is plentiful in the USA. At the beginning of the 19th century, pioneering "carpenter engineers" built large bridges with triangulated stiffened arches.

The Colossus Bridge over the Schuylkill River reaches a span of 102m. Colossus of Fairmount bridg...
In 1817 Theodore BURR patented his truss consisting of a load-bearing arch and a triangulated truss that gives rigidity to the arch.

The patent was used in countless road bridges for decades. Baumgardener's Covered Brid...
These are the famous American covered bridges, timber-truss bridges with roof and siding to protect the wooden structural members from the weather.

Ithiel TOWN patented the first modern truss design without arch. A lattice truss with many closely spaced diagonal elements. Cornish Windsor, covered br...
HOWE's 1940 Patent is similar to LONG’s but incorporates for the first-time iron bars working in tension in the verticals.

The diagonals inclined towards the center are in compression.

Gradually, wood gives way to iron. Jay Bridge, Ausable River i...
In the well-known 1944 PRATT brothers' patent, the tensioned iron bars are arranged in diagonals.

Verticals in compression are shorter in length and have a lower risk of buckling.

This type of truss, simple and efficient, is still standard today. Sulphite Railroad Bridge, 1...
The PRATT truss derives in many variants:

PARKER or "camelback", with a polygonal top chord.
BALTIMORE with additional bracing in the lower section.
K truss, with K-shaped vertical and diagonals.
PENNSYLVANIA, a mixture of PARKER and BALTIMORE. PARKER Traffic (Victoria) B...ImageImageImage
Civil engineer Squire WHIPPLE holds two patents:

The Bowstring arch, a tied-arch bridge with diagonal load-bearing members, the lower chord serves as a tension brace. WHIPPLE Cast and Wrought Ir...
In 1847 the patent known as the WHIPPLE truss.

The two parallel chords, with vertical cast iron compression members, and crisscrossed tensile iron diagonals. Bridge L-158, built by the ...
Wendel BOLLMAN's truss of 1852 is also made entirely of iron.

It multiplies the tensioned braces, forming a bundle of tensioned bars that are anchored to the vertical members of the piles. Ilchester BOLLMAN Truss Bri...
Albert FINK's 1854 patent is fascinating:
no bottom chord.

The diagonal braces are tensioned bars which form a lower tie net for the compressed verticals.

Very attractive but not very effective and too flexible for large spans. Bridge over Ohio river, Pen...
John H. LINVILLE's truss, patented in 1868, overlaps two PRATT trusses and, to increase the rigidity of the deck, it has crossed diagonals at mid-span.

On the Cincinnati Bridge over the Ohio River, it set the world record with a span of 157m. Cincinnati Southern Bridge ...
Meanwhile in Europe...

NO patents are made.
But they DO have efficient triangular bridges.

The distinguished English engineer Isambard K. Brunel designs a collection of wooden viaducts and a bowstring iron arch that have no reason to envy to the American patents. Carvedras Viaduct, Cornwall...Image
Europe closely followed the development of trusses in the United States.

It did not take long to incorporate them in the bridges of the new railway network.
In particular, the TOWN lattice truss, replacing wood with iron. Dirschau bridge over the Vi...
The only European patent of the time is British, the famous WARREN.

A simple symmetrical truss with identical V-shaped diagonals, alternating tension and compression.
The Crumlin Viaduct in Wales is the first major WARREN bridge.

Today WARREN it is the most widely used truss. Crumlin viaduct, Liddel and...
Europe also defined new construction processes.

The TOWN lattice truss allowed a pioneering system: pushing.

The deck is built on one of the abutments and is pushed, sliding onto the piles with the help of rollers, until it reaches its final position. Viaduct Scorff, railway Nan...
Wilhelm Nördling perfects the pushing process by constructing the piles from the front end.

The pile elements are suspended from the cantilevered deck supported by means of a temporary tie.

The deck remains the TOWN lattice truss. Viaduc de la Bouble, Nordli...
One last European patent: the Belgian system of Jules A. VIERENDEEL.

Architects tend to like it, although it is not a real truss. Members are not triangulated but form a rectangular frame.

It is less efficient and more flexible. It requires fixed joints for bending moments. Bridge over the river Schel...
And to top it all off, a summary poster (can be kept, printed or put on T-shirts).

Truss bridge patents of the 19th century are as American as @LEVIS
Well, most of them.
Note US patents are marked in red.

But there are even more similarities with jeans.
⤵️ Image
We have already seen that Levi Strauss & Co was founded in the mid-19th century.

In 1872, one of his customers, the tailor Jacob W. Davis, noticed a problem with his trousers: the pockets were easily ripped.

Together they came up with a solution, which they patented in 1873... Image
The RIVET.

Levi Strauss and Jacob W. Davis' patent reinforces the pocket corners with copper rivets.
Thus was born the first riveted jeans @LEVIS, which are still in use today.

There is also a crucial detail in truss bridges... Image
The JOINT.

Joints in trusses define the ease of construction, resistance, and formal connection of members.

Always look at the joints. Their detail says a lot about the technique of the bridge.

Observe the planes in which members are arranged, whether they cut or cross. Jay Bridge, HOWE truss, 185...ImageImageImage
All the patents we have seen define the joints precisely.

This is where the economy of the solution, ease of construction, durability and aesthetics lie.
Like the @LEVIS rivet

But there is something more important.
⤵️ J. H. Linville, U.S. Patent...Image
THE HERITAGE VALUE OF BRIDGES.

@LEVIS are not thrown away.
Their latest campaigns emphasize that they are designed to be worn for generations.

Historic bridges must also endure.
They should be known and cared for.
They are our heritage.
Thanks for getting hooked on 19th-century engineering.
Now you know, defend the bridges, and don't throw away your 👖.

If you want to promote the heritage value of bridges, please ♥️ like and 🔄retweet the first tweet of the thread (find the link below).
Credits:
All jeans’ photos are @LEVIS second-hand.
All truss schemes are my own.
Bridge images are credited in the description of the first photo of each tweet.
Spanish version.
Enamórate de los puentes en celosía.

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More from @Jorge_Bernabeu

May 10
¿En qué se parecen los PUENTES EN CELOSÍA a los pantalones @LEVIS?

Un hilo para apreciar los puentes en celosía del siglo XIX, prácticos y versátiles como unos buenos vaqueros.
🧵👖 Shoreham Railroad Bridge, J...Image
Una celosía es una estructura reticular de barras rectas que forman triángulos.

Las barras trabajan en compresión (barras rojas) o en tracción (barras azules) casi sin flexión.

Es el tipo de estructura característica de los puentes de ferrocarril del XIX. Image
En muchos casos, la emoción del cruce se puede disfrutar desde la ventanilla.

El tren circula por dentro de la celosía, a través del tubo estructural triangulado. Image
Read 33 tweets
Jan 15
En el puente de San Pablo de Cuenca hay unas extrañas barras de estructura que no sujetan el puente. ¿Para qué son?
Para entenderlo hay que viajar en el tiempo, luchar contra huracanes y visitar el museo de arte abstracto @fundacionmarch.
Un hilo mirando pa Cuenca🧵
Cuenca, oh, Cuenca, Patrimonio de la Humanidad.
Un cerro entre las hoces del Huécar y del Júcar coronado por las casas colgadas, los rascacielos de San Martín, la catedral, la torre de Mangana, la iglesia de San Pedro y más de diez museos.
Cuenca es historia y también rabiosa actualidad.
Ciudad protagonista de #NoMeGustaConducirTNT, la serie de @borjacobeaga con @JuanDiegoBotto, Carlos Areces y @LeonorWatling1
No hay que perderse el vídeo promocional.
Read 34 tweets
Nov 1, 2022
¿Qué hace este cohete en Rabat?
Un recorrido por la historia de los rascacielos a partir de su forma.
Un viaje de USA a África pasando por España y Asia.
¡Una aventura por todo lo alto!

FOLLOW THE FORM
Hilo 👇
Ep. 1. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

Los rascacielos nacen en un lugar y un día precisos: Chicago, 8 oct 1871.
El incendio de una ciudad construida con madera fue devastador. Dos sistemas permitirán su reconstrucción con edificios altos: la estructura metálica y el invento del ascensor.
Se llama “Escuela de Chicago” a los ingenieros, arquitectos y constructores de los primeros rascacielos del XIX.
W. Le Baron Jenney es uno de los pioneros. Planteó el primer entramado interior de hierro. Luego se cubría con fábrica exterior que rigidizaba el conjunto.
Read 65 tweets
Apr 15, 2022
¿Dónde está el Viaducto del Aire?
En Madrid hay un viaducto enorme de Eduardo Torroja construido en 1933.
Pero no se puede ver porque está completamente enterrado.
¡Vamos a buscarlo!

#ViernesDePuentes
#PuentesDeMadrid @caminosupm @Delegacion_ICCP
Hilo 👇 Image
Eduardo Torroja fue un innovador total.
No repetía ideas, siempre inventaba.
Sus obras tienen formas sencillas pero encierran una gran complejidad técnica.
Antes de los 35 años proyectó tres estructuras laminares de hormigón armado que asombraron al mundo. Image
1) Mercado de Algeciras.
Un casquete esférico seccionado por una planta octogonal. Cúpula récord del mundo, una lámina de revolución de 48 m de diámetro y 9 cm de espesor. Image
Read 31 tweets
Mar 4, 2022
El viaducto de Segovia es el puente más cinematográfico de Madrid.
Esta es su historia.
Un hilo de ingeniería civil, arte y mucho drama.
#ViernesDePuentes
#ComicConCaminos @VertebraCaminos
#PuentesDeMadrid @La_UPM @IEducativa_UPM @ETSIC_UPM @caminosupm @Delegacion_ICCP
🧵👇
A mediados del XIX el Palacio Real y San Francisco el Grande (con su magnífica cúpula de 33 me de diámetro) no estaban comunicados. Les separaba la brecha de la calle Segovia (antiguo arroyo de San Pedro) y el caserío que remontaba sus laderas.
Tras varios proyectos monumentales no construidos, en 1872 se planteó la conexión que prolongaría la calle Bailén con un nuevo viaducto sobre la calle Segovia.
Read 28 tweets

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