ABUTMENT

Abutment

In engineering, abutment refers to the substructure at the end of a bridge span whereon the bridge's superstructure rests. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the bridge, as well as acting as retaining walls to resist lateral movement of the earthen fill of the bridge approach. Multi-span bridges require piers to support ends of spans unsupported by abutments.

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abutment

Noun

  1. The point of junction between two things, in particular a support, that abuts. <ref name=SOED/>
  2. The solid portion of a structure that supports the lateral pressure of an arch or vault. <ref name=SOED/>
  3. A construction that supports the ends of a bridge; a structure that anchors the cables on a suspension bridge. <ref name=SOED/>
  4. Something that abuts, or on which something abuts. <ref name=SOED/>
  5. The state of abutting.
  6. That element that shares a common boundary or surface with its neighbor.
  7. The tooth that supports a denture or bridge.
  8. A fixed point or surface where resistance is obtained.
    The fulcrum acted as an abutment.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: abutment
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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