Sydney Harbour Bridge is an iconic structure in the history of Australia. The bridge's construction and inauguration was a significant event that represented a pivotal step in modern Australia's development. It is listed among the number of statutory heritage listings. Construction of the bridge commenced in 1923, and it was officially opened in 1932. The bridge is a steel arch bridge that serves as the vital link in the arterial network, and it connects the city to the Northern suburbs. It features a footbridge, railroad tracks, and a highway. The primary materials used in the construction of the bridge are steel, granite and concrete. Fundamentally, the technology applied in the bridge's construction was the removal of an asphalt road surface to expose the concrete bridge deck. The next step was application of a waterproof system to the concrete bridge deck, and a pave that signified a new road surface. This paper discusses how steel components and technology were used in building the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel structure that has a steel arch. The steel arch carries the dead and live loads out to the underground concrete. Consequently, the bridge itself is constructed with silicon steel with trusses that joins painted dark grey steel. Additionally, the bridge spans about five hundred meters, making it one of the world's longest steel arch bridges.
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To elaborate, from the aerial view of the above Sydney bridge picture, the whole structure appears to be curved. The bridge is made of riveted steel angles and plates. Saddle steel has been integrated to fit the pin. Additionally, the steel has also been modelled to provide to the face end of the lower chord of the arch.
As seen in the above photo, the deck is hanging from the main arch-truss. The deck of the bridge hangs by approximately forty silicon hangers. In measurement, deck's width approximates to forty-nine meters, and the clearance for shipping is almost forty-nine meters. Notably, the high-density deck's steel contains high tensile steel for the trusses, principal lateral bracings, and cross girder flanges. According to Freeman (1934), steel has an addictive strength composed of 0.05% of Sulphur, 1% of manganese, and 0.15%-0.35% of carbon. Thus, with that combination the steel that makes up the bridge is tough, strong, and durable. Subsequently, the road surface and railway on the bridge are made of silicon steel hangars.
Above are some pictures of the road and railway in the bridge. Notably, from the pictures, the silicon steel hangars connect with latticed cross girders below the road surface and the railway. The road surface of the highway consists of steel troughing plates. The troughing plates are supported over steel stringers made up of carbon. Also, floor beams and cross girders are covered in concrete and asphalt (Freeman, 1934). Nonetheless, it is essential to note that there were adjustments on the bridge's road part. The tramways were removed and transformed into additional two-way roadways. The roadways contain an asbestos fibre cement framework backed up by a concrete slab. The design creates two lanes on the eastern side, which were later named as Cahill expressway.
The photo above is the southern arch of the bridge from the northern creeper crane. The bridge's northern and southern parts contain large reinforced concrete that retains the walls that link the highway's distributor roads. Fundamentally, the spans on the north and south are made of steel trusses mounted on concrete abutments. The combined length of the spans approximates six hundred and forty-six meters. On the other hand, on the western side of the bridge are the two railway roads. They are made of timber transoms supported by the bridge's steel stringers (Shanmuganathan et al., 2011). The railway corridors estimate at twelve thousand millimeters wide. The stringers are spaced at approximately two thousand millimeters center. Equally important, it is essential to note that the steel that was used in the construction of the bridge was high in carbon.
The silicon used in the construction of the bridge is higher in carbon than mild steel. Thus, it shows about thirty-eight per cent of pearlite in the microstructures of the bridge. Pearlites contain toughness and good strength, which makes them the best. Additionally, being high carbon steel, the bridge also contains silicon and manganese, which do not show as they dissolve in ferrite, increasing the bridge's strength ( Freeman, 1934). Thus, the silicon steel that was used in the construction of the bridge was cast into ingots. It was rolled into the required sections and shapes while it was still hot.
Conclusively, the Sydney Harbour building one of the most iconic structures in the history of Australia. The building contains a highway, railway and footbridge. The inauguration of the bridge was one of the most momentous occasions in the history of Australia. Notably, the bridge is made up of three primary materials that are steel, granite and concrete. The bridge is mainly a structural work of steel that was folded while hot. The bridge has a steel arch, and the bridge itself is constructed of silicon steel. From an aerial view, the bridge appears to be curved, and the materials used are riveted steel angles and plates. Notably, the bridge's deck hangs from the main arch-truss, and it contains high tensile steel. Additionally, the road surface and the railway are connected by troughing steel plates. Consequently, the northern and the southern spans of the bridge are made of steel trusses mounted on the concrete.
References
Freeman, R. (1934). Sydney Harbour Bridge: Design of The Structure and Foundation. (Abridged). (Includes Photograph and Plates at back of Volume). In Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers (Vol. 238, No. 1934, pp. 153-193). Thomas Telford-ICE Virtual Library.
Shanmuganathan, S., Speers, R., Ruodong, P., & Sriskanthan, S. (2011, October). Sydney Harbour Bridge: replacement rail track support. In Austroads Bridge Conference, 8th, 2011, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (No. AP-G90/11).
