fundamental design of suspension bridges

tonite I was at my favorite friday spot which was just under the HARBOUR BRDGE.Its a 10 lane suspension bridge which had already celebrated its 75 yrs couple of years ago. Just staring at the massive bridge for over 45 mins from beneath I could not stop wondering how suspension bridges are constructed?
what are the fundamental design issues?

what materials are used to construct the pillars which dont get corroded dur to water?

also, just beneath the sydney harbour bridge, there is a unde'water tunnel, which connects two main stream areas. what might be the design of such tunnels that they can with stand the tremedous pressure of water?

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  • gohm
    gohm

    @gohm-F3UUpP • Oct 31, 2009

    Good topic and a nice long discussion can be had with this. I'll help to start things off with some basics. A suspension bridge has the decking supported by suspension cables that are hung from towers and anchored at either end. Modern designs also have vertical cables (hangers) that connect the load bearing decking (where the road is) to the main cables. Tension and compression hold it all together. This design allows for very long spans. Some examples include the Golden Gate bridge, Brooklyn bridge & Akashi-Kaikyo bridge.

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