Quote:
Originally Posted by Fazor
I always assumed a 1.5 ton vehicle imparted the same weight on a bridge regardless of wheel and suspension type.
Different tires could have obviously different effects on wear/tear of the road/driving surface...but that shouldn't have anything to do with a bridge's structual integrity.
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Not at all. A vehicle with four large tires has tremendous weight loading around those tires. Spread the load out over more tires, and the point stress on the bridge is lessened.
Point stress translates into bending moments in the roadway supporting structure.
HOWEVER, as clearly shown on the video, it was the roadway structure itself which gave way, but the main structure of the bridge, which has very little to do with the distribution of weight from vehicles.