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Vierendeel bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Vierendeel bridge is a bridge employing a

Vierendeel truss, named after Arthur Vierendeel. Vierendeel bridge

Such trusses do not have the usual triangular voids

seen in a pinjoint truss bridge, rather employing
rectangular openings and rigid connections in the
elements, which (unlike a conventional truss) must
also resist substantial bending forces. Owing to a
lesser economy of materials and the difficulty of
design before the advent of computers, this truss is
rarely used in bridges outside Belgium. The form is
more commonly employed in building structures
where large shear walls or diagonal elements would Vierendeel bridge at Grammene, Belgium
interfere with the building's aesthetics or functionality. Ancestor Truss bridge

The first such bridge was built in steel at Avelgem, Related None
Belgium in 1902, following development of the truss Descendant None
form and a method to calculate its strength in 1896 by
Carries Pedestrians, pipelines, automobiles,
Arthur Vierendeel. There are many more examples in
Belgium, also constructed in concrete, mostly trucks, light rail, heavy rail
designed by Vierendeel's many students in a long Span range Short to medium
career as professor in civil engineering. Material steel, reinforced concrete, prestressed
The city of Glendale, California has three Vierendeel concrete
truss bridges: the Geneva Street, Kenilworth Avenue, Movable Movable bridges of this type are very
and Glenoaks Boulevard bridges, all two-lane bridges rare. Only one swing bridge of this
spanning 95 feet. They were built in 1937 as part of type was known [1] (http://users.telene
the Verdugo Flood Control Project, the first project of t.be/karel.roose/vierendeel/scheepsdale
the United States Army Corps of Engineers after brug/index.html) (demolished Nov.
passage of the Flood Control Act of 1936.[1] 11-19th 2009)

The double-deck cable-stayed Kap Shui Mun Bridge Design High

in Hong Kong uses a Vierendeel truss. Opened in effort
1997, the lower deck carries both rail and traffic, with Falsework Depends upon length, materials, and
the lack of diagonal members in the cross section required degree of prefabrication
allowing vehicles to drive through the openings
provided by the Vierendeel design.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vierendeel_bridge 1/2
7/12/2016 Vierendeel bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gustav-Heinemann-Brcke Geneva St. bridge in Glendale

References
1. "Glenoaks Blvd. Bridge" (PDF). www.ci.glendale.ca.us. Archived
from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2014-07-27. Wikimedia Commons has
2. Leonhardt, Andr und Partner, Consulting Engineers VBI, media related to Vierendeel
GmbH. "Kap Shui Mun Bridge project page". Retrieved bridges.
2007-06-16.

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