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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Roads and Bridges

Bearing

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

/ˈberɪŋ/nounAdvanced term

In civil engineering & construction, bearing means: A device placed between a bridge deck and its supports that transfers loads while allowing controlled movement and rotation, for example from temperature changes.

In Turkish: mesnet, köprü mesnedi, elastomer mesnet

How it is used

Common types are elastomeric bearings (rubber pads) and pot or sliding bearings. Bearings are installed, inspected and sometimes replaced during a bridge's life. In soil mechanics 'bearing' also appears in bearing capacity and bearing pressure.

Example sentences

  1. The old bearings had seized, so the deck couldn't expand in summer.

  2. Each girder sits on two elastomeric bearings.

Common collocations

  • elastomeric bearing
  • sliding bearing
  • pot bearing
  • bearing replacement
  • bearing plinth
  • bridge deckThe part of a bridge that forms the road or path surface and carries the traffic, supported by beams, girders, cables or arches.
  • abutmentThe support at each end of a bridge that carries the deck and holds back the soil of the approach embankment.
  • pierAn intermediate support of a bridge between its two ends, usually a concrete column or wall that carries the deck loads down to the foundations.
  • expansion jointA planned gap between two parts of a structure or road that lets them expand and contract with temperature and other movements without cracking.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Roads and Bridges

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