Redesigning the Auto: A Key to Solving the U.S. Energy
The automobile is a tremendous consumer of energy. The entire transport sector uses 26% of the energy used in the U.S.�� and half the oil. In fact, the American auto alone consumes one-ninth...
Threaded Rebars Spin Down Time
A rebar splicing technique was a major factor in saving two year's construction time on California's $33 million, 9000 ft (2743 m) Antioch Bridge. Rebar splicing...
Repair and Strengthening of Old Steel Truss Bridges
During the early 1900's, numerous pin jointed steel bridge trusses were constructed throughout the United States. In the intervening years, these trusses were replaced by...
Fatigue Cracking�Problem for Welded Steel Bridges
A recent problem with welded steel bridges is fatigue cracking at welded details. Fatigue cracks begin in small flaws or discontinuities at welded connections and grow to a critical size...
New River Gorge Bridge: World's Longest Steel Arch
For 45 years, the Bayonne Bridge had reigned as the world's longest steel arch bridge. No longer. The New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia has a steel arch spanning 1700...
Building New Bridges from Old
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Co. needed a new 150-ft (64-m) two-span railroad bridge. Minimum time and low cost were the demands. In response, the designers used steel girders...
Minority Consulting Engineers Speak Out
A sampling of opinion from the point of view of black consulting engineers. Quota systems are discussed as are financial problems, attitudes of banks, joint-ventures, abuse of minority-participation...
Dredge-and-Fill Saves $2 Million at Steel Mill Built in Swamp
The Georgetown Texas Steel Corp., in late 1973, accepted the challenge of developing a previously cleared cypress swamp on the east side of the Neches River across from Beaumont, Texas....
Prefab Structural Components Solve Expansion Problem
Another story was added onto an existing low-rise building, where soil strength was so low that the new floor had to be built by sinking new columns down to a sounder stratum, placing...
Dominance of Special Interests Dashes NYC Hopes for Recovery
How well is New York City doing now? Is it really on the way to recovery? Since the landmark report by the Temporary Commission on City Finances was released over a year ago, very little...
Pitfalls of Overconservatism in Geotechnical Engineering
The article cites at least three reasons why geotechnical engineers may be overconservative: (1) They may try to satisfy unreasonable standards established by themselves or others; (2)...
Kamburu Dam: Diversion Conduit Designed into Spillway Saves $1,000,000
Careful coordination of dam construction operation with river stages over several seasons, and a construction sequence that called for building the spillway, in effect, from the top down,...
New River Gorge Bridge: World's Longest Steel Arch
The world's longest steel arch bridge, spanning the New River Gorge Bridge in the south central area of West Virginia, is scheduled to be completed in Sept. 1977. The main...
Exxon's Offshore Platform Nearly Doubles Water-Depth Record
In 1976, Exxon erected near Santa Barbara (Los Angeles metropolitan area) the Hondo platform, in 850 ft of water. This is nearly twice the previous record depth established in the North...
Bridge Erection by Launching is Fast, Safe, and Efficient
The construction of long prestressed concrete bridges without using formal falsework or self-supporting launching falsework is described. Using the so-called incremental launching method...
Polymerization of Concrete Fights Cavitation
The techniques and materials used for the repair of concrete are many and varied. The repair at Dworshak Dam utilized epoxy resins, dry pack mortar, fibrous concrete and a new technique,...
Precast Veneer Replaced By All-Precast Structure
Utilizing engineering solutions to architectural problems greatly enhanced the architectural appearance of this building. Long-span prestressed, light weight concrete beams, post-tensioned...
Vibroreplacement and Reinforced Earth Unite to Strengthen a Weak Foundation
Two relatively new engineering concepts in the U.S. were successfully used to solve a difficult soils problem. A highway skirting Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille was built on a...
The Querverschub of the 2,000-ft Oberkassel Bridge
In 1976 West German bridge engineers undertook the moving of the largest structure ever moved in one piece and in such a short period of time. The Oberkassel Bridge connecting Dusseldorf...
King Post Truss System Cuts Roof Framing Cost by 30%
The design was based on requirements for minimally obstructed sight lines (Robin Hood Dell Open-Air Theater, Philadelphia, Pa.) for outdoor seating and a tight construction budget of $4,500,000....
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