The Whipple Bowstring Truss Bridge was built from a design patented in 1841 by Squire Whipple. Whipple was the first person to understand the stresses in truss members and he developed the first theoretical formula to calculate stresses in the articulated truss. His bowstring truss was the first to use cast iron for compression and wrought iron for tension membranes.
Tension Membrane
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YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy Wikicommons/Rehrenberg
Image Caption:
A Whipple Bowstring Arch/Truss style bridge, built by S. DeGraff in Albany, NY
Era_date_from:
1855
1981

The Whipple Bowstring Truss Bridge was built from a design patented in 1841 by Squire Whipple. Whipple was the first person to understand the stresses in truss members and he developed the first theoretical formula to calculate stresses in the articulated truss. His bowstring truss was the first…
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