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The Brooklyn Bridge case study (report)

Main case study report. Analysis of Brooklyn bridge. Including Enginee...
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Professional Engineering Practice (MCEN4010)

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The Brooklyn Bridge

Figure 1: The view of Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan (Suiseiseki, 2009)

Authors: Andrew Nguyen (90022404)
Dhunkumar Pankajkumar Patel (90020944)
Jason Vo (90022759)
Date Submitted: 07 May 2021
Lecturer(s): Imran Khalid & Renuka Pathmasuntharam
Word Count: Approximately 3000

Executive Summary

The Brooklyn Bridge is a bridge that is located in the East River of New York City

uniting Manhattan and Brooklyn as one, the project turned out to be the greatest

engineering marvel of its time and has stood strong commissioning for over 130

years and counting. This in turn however came with great sacrifice taking the lives of

at least two dozen people including the original engineer in charge of its

construction. The purpose of this report is to identify and provide an overview of the

engineering aspect and historical context during the construction of the Brooklyn

Bridge, how we can contribute to further improvement upon the bridge and measures

to take into account to reduce casualties, furthermore highlighting the challenges that

were overcome to complete construction. The first engineer that started on the

construction of the bridge in 1869 was John Augustus Roebling, known for designing

suspension bridges for at the time was a difficult task with many failing under strong

winds or for heavy loads, however Roebling passed away two weeks into the

construction as a boat had smashed the toes on one of his feet. He tried

hydrotherapy however passed away due to infections, this now led the project to be

handled by his son Washington A. Roebling in which constructions were finalised in

1883 and the bridge was opened connecting New York and Brooklyn for the first time

in history. The basis of this research of this report consisted of 10 studies and journal

articles from related government websites. The topic of discussion was limited to 10

weeks of working time, around 20 sources were used and cited in the article, a word

count limit of around 2500 was imposed. Recommendations for future reference

would include ensuring that working conditions were a lot more safe with proper

protective equipment supplied to the workers and modernised tools used when

constructing the structure in the caissons.

1 Introduction

The intention of this report describes and analyses the fundamentals of professional

engineering relevant to the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge is a steel cable wire

suspension bridge spanning over the East River, connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan in New

York City. Being the longest bridge in the world at the time, a main span of 486 metres with

two caissons fixated to the riverbed providing a solid foundation and towers built from

limestone, granite and cement (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020). This project

was designed and engineered by John Augustus Roebling, then passed down and

undertaken by chief engineer Washington Augustus Roebling following John’s tragic death

and supported along with Emily Warren Roebling assuming the roles of chief engineer after

Washington was diagnosed with a permanent illness. With over 600 workers transforming

6,740 tonnes of material into one of seven wonders of the industrial world and

unfortunately took no less than two dozen lives during the construction period. The

Brooklyn bridge was completed and debuted on May 24th, 1883. The bridge was considered

to be an engineering marvel due to its design, record breaking span and innovative use of

sinking caissons into the riverbed. The bridge benefited the New York City diversely, trading

and travelling between Brooklyn and Manhattan was far more efficient without affecting the

river passage below, soon the bridge became a tourist attraction itself. The audience of this

report is proposed for Engineers Australia and was composed to discuss the engineering,

environmental, ethical and human aspects of the project, Brooklyn Bridge as well as its

respective impacts. The content of this report is drawn on information gathered from

trusted websites and documentaries. The scope of discussion is limited to the time period to

write the report, the information gathered, which is archived historical content. The four

aspects this report is limited to are engineering, environmental, ethical and human.

Construction of New York caisson completed and Gothic towers were also completed on both sides and work of anchorages on both sides of the river continues.

1876 Manufacture of steel-strand suspension cables begins for bridge.(Florentine Films and WETA, n.)

1878 Small strand in bridge support cable snaps which leads to investigation of J. Lloyd Haigh company, supplier of inferior bridge cables and temporary footbridge opens for public, construction of roadway begins.

1880 J. Lloyd Haigh imprisoned for fraud supplying rusted cables and road construction continues.

1882 By narrow 10-7 vote, the bridge company retains Roebling as project engineer in dispute over delays and cost overruns.(Florentine Films and WETA, n.)

1883 The NewYork Bridge completed construction of the bridge. Bridge opens to traffic on May 24, and Roebling's wife, Emily, becomes the first person to travel across the completed bridge by carriage.(Florentine Films and WETA, n.)

3 Analysis of Aspects

There are three technical aspects; Engineering, Environmental and Human.

3 Engineering Aspect

####### Cassion of Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is an engineering marvel of his time and starting of suspension bridge and caisson structure. The hardest part of the construction of Bridge was the construction of the base of the Gothic tower. It needs to be strong so the bridge will still be in any situation. So, Washington Roebling approached caisson engineering.

There are three types of caisson. 1. Box caisson : It is a prefabricated concrete box. It is set down on prepared bases(Khan, 2015). Once it is placed, it is filled with concrete to become part of the permanent works.

  1. Open caisson : The structure is similar to box caisson, except that it does not have a bottom surface. It is suitable for use in soft clays, but not for where there may be large obstructions in the ground. An open caisson that is used in soft grounds or high water tables(Khan, 2015).

  2. Pneumatic caisson : It is a box or cube-like structure without a bottom. Then construction work can be carried out under a dry environment. As it contains pressured air so, water won't flow into the cassion. Airlock is used to maintain constant air pressure.

Figure1: Pneumatic caisson(Darwish, 2015). Basic structure of pneumatic caisson. Airlock prevents leak of compressed air.

Structure of Caisson:

Figure 2: Blue Print of Brooklyn Caisson (Frank Griggs, Jr., Dist. M. ASCE, D. Eng., P., P.L., 2016)

The structure of caisson was made of dense pine wood which provides sufficient strength and rigidity in the structure. These two caissons can hold up to 80,000 tons. There are a total six holes in the structure. First and sixth hole used for taking out digged dirt using shafts. Second and fifth holes are used for pressuring compressed air so water from the background of the caisson can’t come in. Third and fourth holes used by workers for travelling from top to bottom and it contains an air lock, so it prevents compressed air from escaping. While workers digging under the caisson the tower was also building on the top of it. Then pressure was applied on caisson. It makes the process easy by taking cassion to the bedrock.

Caisson Disease:

In making the caisson of the New York side around 14 workers died. At that time it was called bend. Nowadays we call it decompression sickness. When workers travel into the caisson the pressure of outer environment space is less compared to caisson because of compressed air in caisson. In high pressure, it reduces the volume of compounds in our body. So, mainly nitrogen escapes blood and enters into organs. It causes problems when pressure decreases. The dissolved nitrogen in the organ becomes a bubble which leads to numbness to paralysis and death.

This disease won't happen in brooklyn caisson it only happens in new york caisson. Because the depth was almost doubled. Then the effect of compressed air increases. After having many cases of decompression sickness, Washington Roebling decided to stop working at 78 feet, they still have not achieved depth of bedrock. But if the construction continues then death will also increase. Then they filled the caisson with concrete. But, that

decision has no adverse effect till this day. So, the structure has great strength which can hold upto 80,000 tons.

The brooklyn bridge is an engineering marvel of his time. It was structured before the bulb was invented.

Work in the Caissons (National Geographic 2020)

The construction of the approximately 486 meter bridge meant that large-scale changes to the East River had to be made, in which masonry towers that stood 84 meters tall were to be built. Large holes were dug deep into the bottom of the river to anchor the towers on the bedrock below the multiple layers of mud beneath the riverbed. The bridge also had to be constructed in a way to allow for ships to be able to pass beneath, this meant that a high suspension bridge was the only true practical solution to allow for the busy water travel through the river.

The Brooklyn Bridge during its construction (Hulton Archives 2019)

3 Human Aspect

John Augustus Roebling

John Augustus Roebling was a German American civil engineer born in Prussia who

both designed and engineered the Brooklyn Bridge. He studied at the Building

Academy in Berlin for two semesters. From there, he immigrated to the United States

where he became a surveyor in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. During his recruitment as a

surveyor, Roebling studied the state-owned Portage Railroad. Roebling’s

improvement suggested, if the material was changed to wrought iron wire, the

service life of hemp ropes on the level track inclines would increase. This led him to

develop his own method for stranding and weaving the wire cables, which turned

out successful. The demand for his cables raised Roebling established his own factory

(Sayenga, 2020). He had past experience as a bridge builder, designing and

completing a total of 12 bridges between 1844 and 1869 located in Pittsburgh,

Cincinnati to name a few. He represented himself to the community as a man of

innovation and creativity. Upon the day of surveying the Brooklyn Bridge

construction site, a ferry crashed into a pier with great force causing his foot to be

crushed (Lindsay, 2003). This resulted in two of his toes to be amputated. Refusing

antiseptic instead he chose hydrotherapy. On the 22 nd July 1869, two weeks into

construction, Roebling passed away due to infections (Sayenga, 2020).

Washington A. Roebling (Melanie, 2018)

Emily Warren Roebling

Emily Roebling taught herself to become an engineer in order to work alongside her

husband, Washington (Lindsay, 2003). She was responsible for conducting

construction of Brooklyn Bridge on behalf of chief engineer, Washington Roebling.

Assuming roles of chief engineer (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020).

Supporting her husband throughout the whole construction, attempting to retain

Washington’s chief engineer position (Lindsay, 2003). Through her work, Emily

showed her personal attribution of supportiveness. Emily was acknowledged for her

contribution to the construction along with her husband. Rode the first carriage to

cross Brooklyn Bridge while carrying a rooster, symbolising victory (The Editors of

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020).

Emily W. Roebling (Stremple, 2018)

4 Conclusion

The Brooklyn Bridge has proved itself to be an engineering marvel standing at 138 years and

counting even with defective suspension wires, spanning at 486 metres over the East River

and even NewYork caisson has not achieved its depth because of caisson disease. Through

investigating the three different technical aspects of the Brooklyn bridge; Engineering,

Environmental and Human. For the Engineering aspect, The brooklyn bridge was used many

new technologies for creating marvelous structures like steel suspension bridge and

foundation caisson. For the human aspect, the Brooklyn Bridge project was led by three

engineers throughout the construction period. Starting off with civil engineer and

experienced bridge builder, John Augustus Roebling who both engineered and designed the

bridge, after passing away due to an infection, the project was handed over to John’s son,

Washington Augustus Roebling as he believed it was his duty to complete the bridge.

References

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia, 2020. Retrieved from britannica/topic/Brooklyn-Bridge

Darwish, M. (2015, May). Selection criteria for large caissons. presented at the CSCE 2015 Annual general conference, Regina, SK, Canada. Retrieved from researchgate/publication/290670499_SELECTION_CRITERIA_FOR_L ARGE_CAISSONS

Florentine Films and WETA. (n.). Brooklyn bridge timeline. Retrieved from PBS: Public broadcasting services: pbs/kenburns/brooklyn-bridge/timeline/

Frank Griggs, Jr., Dist. M. ASCE, D. Eng., P., P.L. (2016, November). Brooklyn Bridge, Part 2. Structure Magazine. Retrieved from structuremag/?p=

Heritage, H., Landmarks, C., & Bridge, B. (2021). ASCE Metropolitan Section - Brooklyn Bridge. Retrieved 6 May 2021, from ascemetsection/committees/history-and-heritage/landmarks/brooklyn-bri dge

History Editors. (2020, May 21). Brooklyn Bridge. Retrieved from HISTORY: history/topics/landmarks/brooklyn-bridge

Isabelle. (2015, July 29). 10 weird and wonderful facts about the Brooklyn Bridge. Retrieved from EF: ef/wwen/blog/language/10-facts-about-the-brooklyn-bridge/#:~:t ext=14%20years%20and%20600%20workers,wonder%20of%20the%20Industrial% Revolution.

Khan, A. (2015). Well foundation. In Slideshare. Pune: Anantrao Pawar college of Engineering. Retrieved from Anantrao Pawar college of Engineering website: slideshare/alauddinakhan1/well-foundation-pdf

Lindsay, R. (Writer), & Wilmshurst, P. (Director). (2003). Seven Wonders of the Industrial World: The Brooklyn Bridge [Motion Picture].

McNamara, R. Building the Brooklyn Bridge (2019). Retrieved from thoughtco/building-the-brooklyn-bridge-

Melanie. (2018, September 20). Washington Roebling Biography — Builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. Retrieved from CTG Publishing: ctgpublishing/washington-roebling-biography-builder-of-the-brooklyn-bri dge/

National Geographic. The Eighth Wonder of the World (2020) Retrieved from: nationalgeographic/media/eighth-wonder-world/

Sayenga, D. (2020, July 18). John Augustus Roebling. Retrieved from Britannica: britannica/biography/John-Augustus-Roebling

Stremple, P. (2018, May 29). Brooklyn Heights Corner Renamed to Honor Emily Warren Roebling. Retrieved from Bklnyer: bklyner/brooklyn-heights-emily-warren-roebling/

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, August 11). Brooklyn Bridge. Retrieved from Britannica: britannica/topic/Brooklyn-Bridge

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, July 17). Washington Augustus Roebling. Retrieved from Britannica: britannica/biography/Washington-Augustus-Roebling

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2021, February 24). Emily Warren Roebling. Retrieved from Britannica: britannica/biography/Emily-Warren-Roebling

Williams, D. (2014). The Perilous Underwater Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, Dinah Williams Author & Editor. Retrieved from dinahwilliams/the-perilous-underwater-construction-of-the-brooklyn-bridg e/

Wikimedia Commons. (2018, January 16). File:John A Roebling. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons: commons.wikimedia/wiki/File:John_A_Roebling

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The Brooklyn Bridge case study (report)

Course: Professional Engineering Practice (MCEN4010)

5 Documents
Students shared 5 documents in this course

University: Curtin University

Was this document helpful?
The Brooklyn Bridge
Figure 1: The view of Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan (Suiseiseki, 2009)
Authors: Andrew Nguyen (90022404)
Dhunkumar Pankajkumar Patel (90020944)
Jason Vo (90022759)
Date Submitted: 07 May 2021
Lecturer(s): Imran Khalid & Renuka Pathmasuntharam
Word Count: Approximately 3000

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