One of the most dramatic and famous engineering failures of the twentieth century is also one of the most complicated: the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. This early suspension Keep reading
Tag: Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Why Tacoma Narrows Bridge Fell
We’ve talked about aeroelastic flutter and the demise of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge before, but this explanation from Minute Physics does a nice job of outlining the process simply. As noted in the Keep reading
Examples of Flutter
Aeroelasticity is the study of the interaction of structural and aerodynamic forces on an object, and its most famous example is flutter, which occurs when the aerodynamic forces on an object Keep reading
Flutter and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Sixty years ago yesterday the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge (a.k.a. Galloping Gertie) collapsed as a result of aeroelastic flutter during 42 mph winds. Flutter is a phenomenon in which the Keep reading