24-11-2017, 10:21 AM
The first bridges were made by nature, as simple as a fallen trunk over a stream. The first bridges made by humans were probably stretches of logs or wooden planks and finally stones, using a simple support and a crossbar arrangement. Most of these early bridges could not withstand heavy weights or withstand strong currents. It was these deficiencies that led to the development of better bridges. The oldest stone bridge in China is the Zhaozhou Bridge, built between 595 and 605 AD during the Sui Dynasty. This bridge is also important from the historical point of view, since it is the oldest segmental arch bridge of open oak in the world. The first book on bridge engineering was written by Hubert Gautier in 1716. With the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, wrought iron truss systems for larger bridges were developed, but the iron did not have the tensile strength to withstand large loads. With the arrival of steel, which has a great resistance to traction, much larger bridges were built, many of them with the ideas of Gustave Eiffel.