| A | B |
|---|
| anchorage | a secure fixing, usually made of reinforced concrete, to which cables are fastened |
| aqueduct | a bridge or channel for conveying water, usually over long distances |
| arch bridge | a curved structure that converts the downward force of its own weight, and any weight pressing down on top of it, into an outward force along its side and base |
| beam | a rigid, usually horizontal, structural element |
| beam bridge | a simple type of bridge, composed of horizontal beams with vertical posts |
| brace | (n) a structural support; (v) to strengthen and stiffen a structure to resist loads |
| bridge | A structure built over an obstacle, such as a river or a road. |
| buckle | to bend under compression |
| buttress | a support that transmits a force from a roof or wallto another supporting structure |
| cable | a structural element formed from steel wire bound in strands; the suspending element in a bridge |
| cable-stayed bridge | a bridge in which the roadway deck is suspended from cables anchored to one or more towers |
| caisson | a watertight, dry chamber in which people can work under water |
| column | a vertical, structural element, strong in compression |
| compression | a pressing force that squeezes things, or a thing, together |
| deck | supported roadway on a bridge |
| deformation | a change in shape from normal or desired |
| dome | a curved roof enclosing a circular space; a three-dimensional arch |
| force | a push or pull; any action that tends to maintain or alter the position of a structure |
| joint | a device connecting two or more adjacent parts of a structure; a roller joint allows adjacent parts to move controllably past one another; a rigid joint prevents adjacent parts from moving or rotating past one another |
| keystone | the central, wedge-shaped stone at the top of an arch that locks the arch together |
| load | weight distribution throughout a structure; loads caused by wind, earthquakes, and gravity, for example, affect how weight is distributed throughout a structure |
| masonry | a building material such as stone, clay, brick, or concrete |
| movable | a bridge in which the deck moves to clear a navigation channel; |
| perimeter | the distance around the outside of a shape |
| pier | a vertical supporting structure, such as a pillar |
| pile | a long, round pole of wood, concrete, or steel driven into the soil by pile drivers |
| pressure | a force applied or distributed over an area |
| reinforced concrete | concrete with steel bars or mesh embedded in it for increased strength in tension; |
| rigid | ability to resist deformation when subjected to a load |
| shear | a force that causes parts of a material to slide past one another in opposite directions |
| span | the distance a bridge extends between two supports |
| stable | ability to resist collapse and deformation; stability (n.) characteristic of a structure that is able to carry a realistic load without collapsing or deforming significantly |
| suspension bridge | a bridge in which the roadway deck is suspended from cables that pass over two towers; the cables are anchored in housings at either end of the bridge |
| tension | a stretching force that pulls on a material |
| torsion | an action that twists a material |
| tower | the vertical structure in a suspension bridge or cable-stayed bridge from which cables are hung |
| truss | a rigid frame composed of short, straight pieces joined to form a series of triangles or other stable shapes |
| unstable | characteristic of a structure that collapses or deforms under a realistic load |
