Suspension bridge

A bridge whose deck hangs from vertical suspenders attached to main cables draped over towers and anchored at both ends. Its flexible cable system carries loads across long spans.

Main cable: A continuous cable that carries a suspension bridge’s load across its span and transfers it to towers and anchorages. The deck’s weight reaches the towers and anchorages through these draped cables.
Tension (mechanics): An internal force that pulls on a material or structural member along its length. The main cables and suspenders carry bridge loads primarily through tension.
Inca rope bridges: Bridges built by the Inca from plant-fiber ropes, spanning ravines in the Andes. They demonstrate an early use of suspended, tension-carrying bridge elements.
Golden Gate Bridge: A suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate strait in San Francisco, opened in 1937. Its scale and exposed coastal setting make it a defining example of the type.
Bridge aerodynamics: The study of airflow around bridges and the forces and motions it produces. Aerodynamic design became central after wind-induced bridge failures and oscillations.
Suspender: A vertical hanger connecting a suspension bridge deck to its main cable. These hangers transmit the deck’s load upward to the main cables.
Compression (mechanics): An internal force that pushes inward on a material or structural member along its length. Bridge towers resist the downward forces delivered by the main cables through compression.
James Finley: An American engineer who patented an iron-chain suspension bridge design in 1808. Finley helped establish the modern suspension bridge form with a stiffened deck.
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge: A Japanese suspension bridge connecting Kobe with Awaji Island, opened in 1998. It held the record for the world's longest central span after opening.
Bridge oscillation: Repeated motion of a bridge caused by wind, traffic, or other dynamic forces. Flexible suspended spans can move significantly under changing loads and winds.

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