-- Video created by James Trichilo
The 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a suspension bridge built in the state of Washington that spanned the Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound. The bridge was completed July 1, 1940 and collapsed November 7, 1940 under 64 kph wind conditions. The failure of the bridge motivated research in bridge aerodynamics, where it was found that the actual cause of the failure was aeroelastic flutter.
Our study of the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge will focus on a mathematical model proposed by McKenna and Tuama, which seeks to describe how torsional oscillations can be magnified by strictly vertical forces.
No human life was lost in the bridge collapse, save for Tubby, a cocker spaniel trapped in a car that was stuck on the bridge during the collapse.
Source code for this project can be found here.