Abstract
In this chapter the similarities between the Tacoma Narrows Bridge failure in 1940 and the Folsom Dam gate failure in 1995 are examined. In both cases, static design guidelines were followed in the design of the structure under the assumption that large, massive structures would not be susceptible to dynamic excitation. Fundamentals of two-dimensional coupled mode flutter are presented. The frequency mode coalescence that occurs in two-dimensional flutter is noted. It is seen to have some resemblance to the mode-coupling in the coupled-mode instability of Tainter gate. The need for development of dynamic design guidelines for Tainter gates is argued to be parallel to the need for dynamic design guidelines for suspension bridges in the wake of the Tacoma Narrows failure.
Reference38 articles.
1. Ammann, O.H., von Kármán, T., & Woodruff, G.B. (1941). The failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge: A report to the Honorable John M. Carmody, Administrator, Federal Works Agency, Washington, D.C. Report by the Board of Engineers.
2. Model Tests for Non-Eccentricity Dynamic Instability Closely Related to Folsom Dam Tainter-Gate Failure
3. Hydrodynamic Pressure Load on Folsom Dam Tainter-Gate at Onset of Failure Due to Flow-Induced Vibrations
4. A new mathematical explanation of what triggered the catastrophic torsional mode of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
5. Resonance, Tacoma Narrows bridge failure, and undergraduate physics textbooks