Tacoma Bridge Failure-- a Physical Model

Abstract

The cause of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge has been a topic of much debate and confusion since the day it fell. Many mischaracterizations of the observed phenomena have limited the widespread understanding of the problem. Nevertheless, there has always been an abundance of evidence in favour of a negative damping model. Negative damping, or positive feedback, is responsible for many large amplitude oscillations observed in many applications. In this paper, we will explain some well-known examples of positive feedback. We will then present a feedback model, derived from fundamental physics, capable of explaining a number of features observed in the instabilities of many bridge decks. This model is supported by computational, experimental and historical data.