Akashi-Kaiky Bridge ()

Report typed and researched byCameron Millsap and Jacky Fong

Definitions
Bridge- a structure spanning and providing passage over a river, chasm, road, or any kind of obstacle. Suspension Bridge- A bridge having a deck suspended from cables anchored at their extremities and usually raised on towers

How It Works
A suspension bridge has cables, ropes, and/or chains that span across an obstacle which a road or deck is suspended from. The cables are strung from two tall towers that are the main supporters of the bridge. The force of compression pushes down on the suspension bridges deck, but because it is a suspended roadway, the cables transfer compression to

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Which dissipate the compression directly into the earth, where they are firmly entrenched. The supporting cables running between two anchorages are the lucky recipients of the tension forces, the cables are literally stretched form the bridge its traffic as they run from anchorage to anchorage. The anchorages are also under tension, but since they are like towers they are held firmly to earth. The tension they experience is dissipated.

How It Works continued

Almost all suspension bridges have a supporting truss system beneath the bridge deck. This helps to stiffen the deck and reduce the tendency of the roadway to sway and ripple.

Biography of the designers

The Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway is the company responsible for the construction of maintenance of the three expressways that are between the Honshu and Shikoku islands. The most famous one is the Akashi-Kaiky bridge. It is well known for its span since it is the longest in the world. The current president of the company is Chikao Ito. The company first started July 1st 1970.

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As of April 1st, 2008 there are 407 employees working at the company. The capital is four billion Japanese yen which is approximately forty million U.S. dollars. The executive vice president is Mitsuru Hoshino.

History and General information

One of the older forms of suspension bridges is the suspended-deck suspension bridge. Mayans were the first known to have a suspended-deck suspension bridge which is the Maya bridge at Yaxchilan. Fraust Vrancic was the first to have a design that looks like a modern day suspension bridge. The first modern suspension bridge was built by James Finley over Jacobs creek in Pennsylvania in 1801.

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suspension bridges were first designed with timber, ropes, and/or iron chains. After awhile, people started to use wire cables instead. Suspension bridges are a very old form of technology, but that doesn't stop it from being the effective technology for holding long spanning bridges today. The Akashi-Kaiky Bridge was built for the purpose of easier travel between Honshu and Shikoku. Before they had to travel by ferry which had a high death toll from harsh winds and waves. Today it is the longest spanning bridge in Japan.

History and General information continued

The structural type is a gravity anchored suspension bridge with a deck truss. The bridge was made being apart of the Honshu Shikoku Bridge Project. The Honshu Shikoku Bridge Project is a system of three bridges that connect the Honshu and Shikoku islands. The bridges are controlled by the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Co. Ltd.

Seven Resources Used

People- The people used were the designers and about 100 contractors part of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority. Capital- The money used to make this bridge is approximately 500 billion yen or 3.6 billion U.S. dollars. Time- It took ten years to construct this bridge(1988-1998)

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Information- the information used was the technology that is used for suspension bridges and the blueprint based off of suspension bridge technology made by the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority. Energy- Main energy sources were human and animal muscle power and fossil fuels that powered machines. The actual bridge uses gravitational energy to function. The lights on the bridge run on electricity

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Materials- Steel, asphalt, concrete, and wire cables. Tools and machines- Machinery and other excavation tools.

Fun facts
The central span was planned to be 1,990 meters, but the Kobe earthquake increased it to 1,991 meters. The two bridge towers can expand up to 7 feet due to the heat