Catastrophe to Triumph

Catastrophe to Triumph PDF Author: Richard S. Hobbs
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
In 1940, just months after opening, "Galloping Gertie" captured worldwide attention when it plunged to a watery grave. Richard Hobbs recounts the catastrophe and its aftermath, including the harrowing escapes, the subsequent investigation, the scandals, and the triumph of the replacement spans.

To Forgive Design

To Forgive Design PDF Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674065433
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 427

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Book Description
Argues that failures in structural engineering are not necessarily due to the physical design of the structures, but instead a misunderstanding of how cultural and socioeconomic constraints would affect the structures.

Success Through Failure

Success Through Failure PDF Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691180997
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
This book examines the importance of engineering design as well as society's ability to respond to design flaws.

In the Wake of Tacoma

In the Wake of Tacoma PDF Author: Richard Scott
Publisher: Amer Society of Civil Engineers
ISBN: 9780784405420
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
In the Wake of Tacoma is the first comprehensive treatment of the changes that the 1940 collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge has imposed on the design of suspension bridges. Written as a historical narrative, this heavily illustrated book describes design trends before the collapse, the collapse itself, and the investigations to determine its cause. The book then examines subsequent aerodynamic and other design developments and their application in suspension bridges worldwide in the decades following the collapse. In the Wake of Tacoma is a comprehensive reference work on suspension bridges in general, examining virtually every suspension bridge of note built in the past sixty years and highlighting overall development of the state of the art today. It goes beyond the major, well-known bridges to examine many small and mid-span suspension bridges worldwide that have contributed significantly to the modern development of the form. Also covered are the engineering debates and engineers involved; discussions of bridges under construction and under design; and new design concepts and materials to conquer the huge distances envisaged for such crossings as the Messina and Gibraltar straits. Presented in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language, this book, which received the 2006 Publication Award from the Japan Association for Wind Engineering, should appeal to both engineers and nonengineers with an interest in bridges and engineering in general. About the Author Richard Scott is a waterway heritage planner for Parks Canada, where he is currently responsible for palnning along the Trent-Severn waterway. He is also the editor of History of the Modern Suspension Bridge: Solving the Dilemma between Economy and Stiffness (ASCE Press, 2010). Product Reviews ...An outstanding history of suspension bridges focusing on post-Tacoma spans... In the Wake of Tacoma is extremely visual and written in a style that makes it accessible, exciting and interesting to both engineers and the general public. It is a masterful study- well researched, written, and illustrated. --Eric DeLony, Chief, Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service

To Engineer is Human

To Engineer is Human PDF Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250228077
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
“Though ours is an age of high technology, the essence of what engineering is and what engineers do is not common knowledge. Even the most elementary of principles upon which great bridges, jumbo jets, or super computers are built are alien concepts to many. This is so in part because engineering as a human endeavor is not yet integrated into our culture and intellectual tradition. And while educators are currently wrestling with the problem of introducing technology into conventional academic curricula, thus better preparing today’s students for life in a world increasingly technological, there is as yet no consensus as to how technological literacy can best be achieved. " I believe, and I argue in this essay, that the ideas of engineering are in fact in our bones and part of our human nature and experience. Furthermore, I believe that an understanding and an appreciation of engineers and engineering can be gotten without an engineering or technical education. Thus I hope that the technologically uninitiated will come to read what I have written as an introduction to technology. Indeed, this book is my answer to the questions 'What is engineering?' and 'What do engineers do?'" - Henry Petroski, To Engineer is Human

Understanding Bridge Collapses

Understanding Bridge Collapses PDF Author: Björn Åesson
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482266105
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
This book presents a detailed overview of 20 cases of famous and other highly interesting bridge collapses over the last two centuries. Every case is illustrated and described in detail and the failure analyses made are supported by well-known explanations and, in some cases, by new theories. The chronological order makes it easy to follow the gradual development in the use of different bridge types and the choice of construction material. This analysis of the complex phenomena of fatigue and buckling is a critical area for consulting engineers and for advanced-level and postgraduate students in structural and bridge engineering.

The Failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge

The Failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge PDF Author: Board of Engineers Appointed to Report on the Failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bridge failures
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description


Engineers of Dreams

Engineers of Dreams PDF Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307773132
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 496

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Book Description
Petroski reveals the science and engineering--not to mention the politics, egotism, and sheer magic--behind America's great bridges, particularly those constructed during the great bridge-building era starting in the 1870s and continuing through the 1930s. It is the story of the men and women who built the St. Louis, the George Washington, and the Golden Gate bridges, drawing not only on their mastery of numbers but on their gifts for persuasion and self-promotion. It is an account of triumphs and ignominious disasters (including the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which literally twisted itself apart in a high wind). And throughout this grandly engaging book, Petroski lets us see how bridges became the "symbols and souls" of our civilization, as well as testaments to their builders' vision, ingenuity, and perseverance. "Seamlessly linked...With astonishing scope and generosity of view, Mr. Petroski places the tradition of American bridge-building in perspective."--New York Times Book Review

Mathematical Models for Suspension Bridges

Mathematical Models for Suspension Bridges PDF Author: Filippo Gazzola
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319154346
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
This work provides a detailed and up-to-the-minute survey of the various stability problems that can affect suspension bridges. In order to deduce some experimental data and rules on the behavior of suspension bridges, a number of historical events are first described, in the course of which several questions concerning their stability naturally arise. The book then surveys conventional mathematical models for suspension bridges and suggests new nonlinear alternatives, which can potentially supply answers to some stability questions. New explanations are also provided, based on the nonlinear structural behavior of bridges. All the models and responses presented in the book employ the theory of differential equations and dynamical systems in the broader sense, demonstrating that methods from nonlinear analysis can allow us to determine the thresholds of instability.

Bridges

Bridges PDF Author: David Blockley
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199645728
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Bridges are remarkable structures. Often vast, immense, and sometimes beautiful, they can be icons of cities. David Blockley explains how to read a bridge, how they stand up, and how engineers design them to be so strong. He examines the engineering problems posed by bridges, and considers their cultural, aesthetic, and historical importance.