Why this matters
Timber arch bridges combine efficient load-carrying behavior with a renewable material, but their performance still has to be checked carefully for both strength and serviceability. As part of the ARCH 544 final project, I used STAAD.Pro to study the structural behavior of the Eagle River Timber Bridge, with the goal of understanding how well a realistic analysis model captures member forces, stresses, and deflections.
What I did
I built a STAAD model of the timber arch bridge based on the project documentation, defining the arch, deck, and bracing members with appropriate cross-sections and material properties. I then set up the load cases and combinations specified in the assignment, including self-weight and representative live loading, and ran linear static analyses to extract axial forces, bending moments, and deflections for critical members and locations.
Key findings
The analysis showed that the modeled bridge satisfies strength requirements with the chosen member sizes, but serviceability is more critical: deflections in some regions indicate a need for additional bracing to stiffen the structure. The study also highlighted that more detailed load cases—such as snow and construction equipment loads—would be necessary for a full design-level assessment. Finally, the results suggest that certain members could be reduced in size for a more economical design while still meeting performance criteria.