Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
Golden Gate Bridge | The CRAZY Engineering behind it
Golden Gate Bridge | The CRAZY Engineering behind it
When observing the Golden Gate Bridge floating over the Pacific Ocean, your eyes may
be drawn to its beautiful suspension cable system. What would happen to the bridge if
this cable system was not present? In short, it would be a catastrophe. Let's brave the
deadly currents of the Pacific Ocean and construct the Golden Gate Bridge with its
chief design engineer, Mr. Joseph Strauss. We'll also explore the mesmerizing
engineering feats the Golden Gate Bridge has achieved. Come along! The Golden Gate
Bridge is a suspension bridge. A highly simplified suspension bridge can be constructed
the following way: erect two towers at both ends of the ocean and suspend a long
cable between the towers. This cable can be approximated as a parabola. Now let's
attach a concrete road deck with pillars. This clearly provides support to the end of the
road deck.
When we connect the suspension cables between the main cable and the road deck,
the bridge is also supported along its length, so the road deck won't fail as we saw
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
earlier. This is the basic design behind the suspension bridge. Before exploring more
about the Golden Gate Bridge, let's first understand why the engineers chose a
suspension design for this site. The distance between the two coastlines of the Golden
Gate is a whopping 2.7 km. Let's construct a conventional beam bridge here. You can
see that the road deck is supported by various piers. The presence of these piers
blocks the movement of ships underneath. As you can imagine, constructing them 300
ft deep in the water would be extremely costly. Thus, the beam design does not make
sense here. Now let's consider an arch bridge. This would definitely provide
passageways for ships; however, to maintain the arch shape, the bridge would need to
be extremely high.
Such a structure would be quite complex to construct. That's why Mr. Joseph Strauss
opted for a suspension design, a bridge that could overcome all the drawbacks we
discussed in a very efficient way. Now let's get into the design details of the suspension
bridge. This design has one glaring issue: if you construct the bridge like this, the
towers will bend inward as shown. The main cable is under a huge tensile load. This
applies force on the tower. When you resolve this force, you can see that there is an
imbalanced horizontal force acting inward on the tower, which explains why the towers
bend. Can you find a solution for this issue? To cancel this horizontal force, we need
the same force acting in the opposite direction. The straightforward solution is to
extend the main cable and anchor it down to the ground via an anchorage system.
However, we can optimize the financial resources needed to construct this bridge with
a simple idea. All we need to do is move the towers closer to one another. Now the
length of the unsupported bridge deck is reduced. Due to this, tension in the cable will
be reduced. This will obviously lead to a cable with less cross-section area. The width of
the main cables are more than half the height of the average human as a tTourist
attraction, a piece of this impressive main cable is demonstrated near the Golden Gate
Bridge. However, if you construct the bridge with this exact design, it will experience a
premature death. Can you guess why this would be the case? Connections are the
weakest part in any structural system. The direct connection of the steel suspenders
with the concrete deck will lead to the formation of cracks on the deck since concrete is
brittle in nature.
Let's see how Mr. Strauss solved this problem. Mr. Strauss decided to connect the
suspenders to a steel structure. Steel to steel connection is always strong. The details
of the connection between the suspenders and steel structure are illustrated here. The
road deck is placed on this structure. Mr. Strauss kept the width of the road to 27 m to
account for current and future traffic demands. Assembling the structure like this was
far from an easy task due to foggy and windy conditions at the site. To facilitate the
process, workers prefabricated each member of the truss and brought them to the site
via ships. Assembly of the individual members was accomplished using a derrick, and
their connections were secured via rivets to ensure the safety of the laborers. A net
was installed underneath the bridge deck as the construction of the bridge progressed.
They simultaneously connected the structure with the main cable using suspension
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
cables. Moreover, to maintain equal loading on the cable, workers had to assemble this
system simultaneously and equally in two directions for each tower. Thus, the Golden
Gate was bridged. 250 pairs of vertical cables were used, and they hung the whole
bridge deck to the main cable after the construction of the steel structures. The
workers painted the bridge a special International Orange color. Next, let's examine
some details of concrete road construction on top of this solid structure. Workers first
laid down wooden formwork, or they attached steel bars, welded them to the steel
sections below them, and later poured and compacted the concrete using a needle
vibrator. Our bridge looks perfect now, but is it ready to support vehicle movement?
Not yet. We must first tackle another major engineering challenge: thermal expansion.
The concrete and associated steel structure will expand or contract based on
environmental temperature variations. If we had constructed this bridge as a single
piece during a hot sunny day, the bridge would expand and cause tremendous stress
on the tower as well as on the road. Eventually, the bridge would experience damage.
If you have ever visited the Golden Gate Bridge, you may have noticed peculiar
connections on the road. These connections, called finger expansion joints, were Mr.
Strauss's solution to solve the thermal expansion problem. Mr. Strauss divided the deck
into seven separate pieces. You can see this bridge has three cradles. The finger
expansion joints are installed between the gaps. During an extreme temperature
increase, the length of the road deck increases, and these joints move by almost4T
what an elegant solution for a serious issue.
However, there is still a small problem to solve: the thermal expansion of the steel is
slightly higher than that of the concrete. This differential expansion can cause trouble
for the concrete deck, which is composed of a mixture of concrete and steel bars. But
this expansion issue is negligible when the length is small. This is why the Golden Gate
contains tiny Expansion Joints every 50 ft. Another great design challenge Mr. Strauss
dealt with was the height of the tower. Let's do an experiment to gain a better
understanding. I had two Bridge designs with me: a tall Tower design, it is having a
high sack, and the next one a short over design, obviously a small sag. The question is
that which design gives more strength to a suspens kind of bridge. Let's test the first
design using a road deck that to a really heavy Road deck.
When I attach the road deck, this design is standing strong. This design is safe. Now
let's attach the same weight to the next design, to the short to design. This bridge
went for a sudden failure. I couldn't react to that. So in short, we proved experimentally
the tall to design is the best for a suspens kind of bridge, is more strong. The question
is why? To get the answer for this, let's invite the chief engineer of this whole project,
Mr. Joseph St, to the video. The major difference between these two designs is the
angle of the cable in both the load to be carried is the same. The vertical component of
the cable tension balances this weight. Since the small Tower design has a low angle to
balance the weight, the cable has to induce more tension. This is why the short Tower
fails during the experiment.
The tall tower will obviously reduce the tension in the cable, but it will cost much more
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
to construct it. That's precisely why Mr. Strauss calculated the optimal tower height of
746 ft, a happy average between these two scenarios. Now let's get into the most
exciting part of this video: construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in a hostile
environment. First, we start with the tower const construction. Did you know the
construction of the Southside Tower was tougher than the North Tower? This is
because the south tower construction had to overcome the violent Pacific Ocean. A
tower Foundation must be constructed on strong Bedrock called hard strata. For the
South Side, the hard strata was 50 ft below the seabed level and had a steep floor. We
need to dig this deep and build an RCC foundation for the South Tower.
To do so, first professional divers were hired to blast bombs underwater. The divers
cleared the debris of the explosion and made a better surface. Now it's time to
construct a steel and wooden framework on this surface. The divers obviously did an
amazing job here. Now let's see the cross-section of the structure they built. Then the
concrete was poured to create something called Fender walls. Afterwards, all the inside
water was pumped out. Now that the fender wall is ready, can the workers go inside
and start digging for the hardStrata, here is the issue: the ocean currents are so nasty
that the fender wall will have to bear a huge inward force and can collapse. This kind of
construction is highly unsafe. Mr. Strauss had a clever idea initially. They placed the
blasting tubes, the workers shaft, and the material shaft inside the fender walls.
The trick was to construct a thick reinforced concrete slab so that workers can work
beneath it. The way workers reached the workers chamber was quite interesting; it was
via the workers shaft. They continuously drilled the boulders and dug underneath the
RCC slab. This RCC slab supported the fender walls and protected the workers
underneath against deadly currents during this process. The entire fender wall
structure was allowed to sink slowly. You can see its knife-like shape. Eventually, they
reached the rocky hard strata. After leveling the hard strata, they made a steel
structure there and built an RCC foundation. The construction of the complete
foundation is quite easy now. You can see how the fender walls protect the main
foundation from the deadly waves. Now it's to see the construction of the gigantic
towers.
Once the foundation was ready, they assembled the steel base plate on it. Now comes
the magic of these hollow steel cells. They assembled and riveted these cells as if they
were constructing a tower using Legos. You can see how cleverly they had to plan the
shapes and sizes of these cells so that the tower would finally achieve the shape which
it was intended to achieve. Mr. Strauss designed this unique cellular structure to be
economical as well as strong. The tower construction was then complete. Next, it was
time to lay down the main cables. For this, they first installed cable saddles at the top
of the towers. You may think that the main cable is a single solid cable. The main cable
is, in fact, made up of 27,000 smaller wires and a total length of 129,000 km length of
steel wire was consumed for fabrication of it.
To start laying these cables, workers first constructed a catwalk bridge for themselves.
At first, workers laid a support wire. The main cables made their journey via these
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
spinning wheels. Furthermore, these small wires were passed over the tower through
the cable saddle one by one and were then clamped by laborers. Then the work
pressed the wires tightly using a hydraulic press. They simultaneously wound the wires
together using galvanized steel wire, which is why the main cable looks like a single
large pipe. These cables are anchored to the bedrock with strand shoe steel plates.
After laying the main cables, the suspension cables were attached to it. All that was left
to do was construct the deck structure and lay down concrete for the road. You already
know how they did that. A strange incident happened on the Golden Gate Bridge on its
50th anniversary when more than 300,000 people gathered on the bridge all at once.
You can probably predict what will happen if a suspension bridge is overloaded.
Overloading a suspension bridge can cause it to sag. This can even causeThe main
towers to bend inward. This is exactly what happened on that day. The road deck
sagged by almost two (2) meters. Even with this extreme load, Mr. Strauss's incredible
suspension bridge stood strong. One can only admire the technologies they developed
89 years ago in the design and construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. This successful
project signified a leap in civil engineering. Before you leave, don't forget to become a
Lesic team member. We hope you enjoyed the video. Thank you for watching.
Reading Summary
● The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge, chosen for its ability to span long
distances without obstructing ship traffic and being less complex to construct than
other bridge types.
● The bridge's design incorporates features to address challenges like tower
stability, thermal expansion, and the need for strong connections between steel
and concrete.
● The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge involved innovative techniques, such
as the use of cellular steel structures for the towers, and the laying of the main
cables using a catwalk bridge and spinning wheels.
Vocabulary
Term Definition Example Sentence
catastrophe A sudden event that causes great The earthquake was a catastrophe
(noun) and widespread damage or that destroyed many buildings and
suffering. killed thousands of people.
mesmerizin So captivating or fascinating as to The mesmerizing performance of
g hold one's attention completely. the magician left the audience
(adjective) speechless.
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
convention Conforming to accepted standards The conventional wisdom is that a
al or practices; traditional. good education is essential for
(adjective) success.
premature Happening or done before the usual The baby's premature birth was a
(adjective) or proper time; too early. cause for concern.
negligible So small or unimportant as to be The difference in price between the
(adjective) not worth considering; insignificant. two products was negligible.
whopping Extremely large or great. The company made a whopping
(adjective) profit last year.
drawbacks Disadvantages or problems. The main drawback of this plan is
(noun) its high cost.
glaring Very obvious or noticeable. There was a glaring error in the
(adjective) report.
tensile Relating to or involving tension. The bridge is designed to withstand
(adjective) high tensile loads.
anchorage A place where something is The ship dropped anchor in the
(noun) anchored or fixed. anchorage.
Multiple Choice Questions
Question #1 Question #2 Question #3
Why did the engineers What was the primary What was the main reason
choose a suspension design engineering challenge that why the South Tower
for the Golden Gate Bridge? Mr. Strauss faced in construction was more
constructing the Golden difficult than the North
Gate Bridge's road deck? Tower construction?
A. The suspension design A. The need to prevent the A. The South Tower was
was the most cost-effective road deck from collapsing located in a more exposed
option due to the vast under the weight of traffic. area, making it more
distance between the susceptible to strong winds
coastlines and the need for B. The need to ensure the and waves.
ship passage. road deck could withstand
the strong winds and fog. B. The South Tower
B. The suspension design required a deeper
was the only design that C. The need to account for foundation due to the
could withstand the strong the thermal expansion and presence of hard strata
Pacific Ocean currents. contraction of the concrete further below the seabed.
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
C. The suspension design and steel. C. The South Tower was
was the most aesthetically constructed using different
pleasing option for the D. The need to create a materials than the North
bridge. road deck that was wide Tower.
enough to accommodate
D. The suspension design future traffic demands. D. The South Tower was
was the only design that built during a period of
could be constructed with more severe weather
the available materials at conditions.
the time.
Question #4 Question #5
What specific design feature did Mr. Why was the construction of the South
Strauss incorporate to address the issue of Tower more challenging than the North
the towers bending inward due to the Tower?
tension in the main cable?
A. He designed the towers to be wider at A. The South Tower was located in a more
the base to provide greater stability. exposed area, making it more susceptible
to strong winds and waves.
B. He added additional support cables to
the towers to counteract the inward force. B. The South Tower required a deeper
foundation due to the presence of hard
C. He extended the main cable and strata further below the seabed.
anchored it to the ground via an
anchorage system. C. The South Tower was constructed using
different materials than the North Tower.
D. He used a special type of steel that was
less susceptible to bending under tension. D. The South Tower was built during a
period of more severe weather conditions.
Short Answer Questions
Question Explain how the Golden Gate Bridge's design addresses the issue of
thermal expansion.
#1
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Question Describe the unique cellular structure used in the construction of the
Golden Gate Bridge's towers and explain its purpose.
#2
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
What was the significance of the incident that occurred on the Golden
Question Gate Bridge's 50th anniversary, and what does it reveal about the
#3 bridge's design?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Question Why did Mr. Strauss choose to connect the suspenders to a steel
structure instead of directly to the concrete road deck?
#4
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
Question Explain why the author describes the Golden Gate Bridge's main cable
as a 'mesmerizing engineering feat.'
#5
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Open Ended Questions
The Golden Gate Bridge was a monumental engineering feat,
Question overcoming numerous challenges. Reflect on a time in your own life
#1 when you faced a significant obstacle. How did you approach the
challenge, and what lessons did you learn from the experience?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
The text highlights the importance of collaboration and teamwork in the
Question construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Think about a time when you
#2 worked effectively as part of a team. What role did you play, and what
did you learn about the value of teamwork?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Week 3 Assignment This resource was created by Bakhodir Shokirov
______________________________________________________________________
The Golden Gate Bridge is a symbol of human ingenuity and resilience.
Question Consider a time when you witnessed or experienced the power of
#3 human creativity or determination. How did this event inspire you, and
what does it tell you about the potential of human achievement?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
