Main Line Mending
Both the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), of Laurel, Maryland, and the Providence Water Supply Board, of Rhode Island, are conducting massive, multimillion-dollar rehabilitation...
Towering Over Xiamen (Available in Structural Engineering Special Issue only)
Composite structural systems are rapidly becoming the preferred choice for high-rise buildings, due to their high strength and stiffness, large ductility, and convenient, economical construction....
Back from the Brink
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States, has been moved to prevent it from toppling into the sea as a result of coastal erosion. Engineers from...
On the Wild Side
Designers of today's roller coasters are constantly looking for new ways to exhilarate riders, from higher drops to tighter turns to launch mechanisms that exert more force...
Advancing Composites (Available in Structural Engineering Special Section only)
Advanced composites, particularly fiber-reinforced polymers, have received considerable attention from bridge owners over the last few years, as cost-effective, durable alternatives to...
Considering the Options (Available in Structural Engineering Special Section only)
In work for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Sverdrup Civil, Inc. performed a seismic evaluation and developed a seismic retrofit strategy for the Poplar Street Bridge...
Domesticating Steel
Residential contractors, nervous about fluctuations in lumber prices and quality, would welcome steel framing into the housing market if the necessary infrastructure were in place. Despite...
Ground Attack
Buried surfaces made of concrete, ductile iron and carbon steel are susceptible to corrosion by the soil that surrounds them, but there are numerous ways that these surfaces may be protected....
Muscle Made of Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) extends service life and increases load-bearing capacity when applied to concrete structures. CFRP is less expensive than traditional strengthening...
Downtown Goes Uptown in Stainless Steel
In an unusual urban planning endeavor, a business district in Houston upgraded infrastructure, and added stainless steel design elements to unify the area. About $11 million was raised...
Framing a Work of Art
One of the most visually unique building designs of the twentieth century, the Guggenheim Museum project in Bilbao, Spain, required an innovative structural engineering solution and pioneering...
Making the Grade
A new grade of high performance steel, HPS-70W, allows engineers to design tougher, lighter structures. The high performance weathering steel has a yield strength of 70 ksi, or 485 MPa....
Rapid Redecking
A contractor replaced nearly 7,000 m� of steel grid roadway deck filled with microsilica concrete on the Canadian crossing of the Thousand Islands bridge system more than one year ahead...
A Museum for the Heavens
Replacing a icon such as the Hayden Planetarium's thin-shelled concrete dome is not the most desirable assignment. But the design team for the new Frederick Phineas and Sandra...
Santa Fe Sensation
The new renovation of the Sante Fe Opera Theater is a striking combination of architecture and engineering. The owners wanted to upgrade amenities, especially ADA compliance, and to protect...
Coldhearted Building
A 20,000-ton district cooling plant owned by the Public Service Company of Colorado was recently built to sell chilled water to customers in downtown Denver who will use it to air-condition...
Do Coated Pipes Last Longer?
Field studies have revealed that polymer coated steel pipe resists corrosion longer than pipe coated with other materials. Corrosion is the most common failure mechanism of pipe culvert,...
Baseball Caps
The last ten years have been a renaissance for baseball stadium construction�a trend that doesn't look likely to stop just yet�and four of the new parks are on the cutting...
A Race to Innovate
The annual Concrete Canoe Competition, which is co-sponsored by the ASCE and Cleveland-based Master Builders, fosters several engineering breakthroughs that are ignored or forgotten by...
Timber!
For engineers accustomed to working with steel, using large wood beams in structural applications can be an unusual experience. Three Midwestern construction projects�a nature center,...
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