Patent ID: 7870628

Claim:
An enhancing mechanism for a girder in which a bending moment of the girder is distributed under an applied load, the enhancing mechanism comprising: a first truss segment and a second truss segment positioned substantially parallel to each other and located on opposite sides of the girder's midpoint; a first diagonal segment and a second diagonal segment positioned between the first truss segment and the second truss segment, wherein the first diagonal segment and the second diagonal segment are coupled to the first truss segment and a second truss segment, respectively; wherein the enhancing mechanism is formed as a supplemental structure to the girder that absorbs a portion of the shear created by the applied load and is coupled to the girder at a plurality of points arranged in a linear array, wherein tension is expressed into the girder via the plurality of points; and wherein the enhancing mechanism is coupled to the girder only at points below the neutral axis of the girder.