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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Structures and Loads

Span

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

/spæn/nounCore term

In civil engineering & construction, span means: The distance between two supports of a beam, slab or bridge. As a verb, to span means to stretch across a space from one support to another.

In Turkish: açıklık

How it is used

Used as a noun and a verb: a beam spans six metres, and a bridge has a main span of 300 metres. Longer spans need deeper members, so span is one of the first numbers engineers ask about.

Example sentences

  1. The slab spans eleven metres between the beams, so we're looking at post-tensioning.

  2. What's the span of the new footbridge?

Common collocations

  • clear span
  • main span
  • long-span structure
  • span length
  • span-to-depth ratio
  • beamA horizontal structural member that carries loads across an opening and passes them to the columns or walls at its ends. It works mainly in bending.
  • deflectionThe amount a beam, slab or other member bends or moves under load, measured as a distance, usually at the middle of the span.
  • cantileverA beam, slab or other structural element supported at one end only, with the other end projecting freely, as in a balcony or a canopy.
  • bridge deckThe part of a bridge that forms the road or path surface and carries the traffic, supported by beams, girders, cables or arches.

More terms: Structures and Loads

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