Oregon Bridge Features Innovative Bell Piers, Floating Falsework
The I-205 bridge, scheduled for completion in 1983, will be a final link in a 40-mile highway east of Portland, Oregon. the substructure and superstructure design featured unusual technology....
GAO Finds Massive Failure of Wastewater Treatment Plants
A year-long study by the General Accounting Office of 242 wastewater treatment plants in 10 states concluded that discharge permit violations are the norm, not the exception. The failures,...
Wicks, Fabrics and Sawdust Overcome Thick Mud
A new Dumbarton bridge is replacing the original which was built in 1927 to cross San Francisco Bay at its southern end. The bridge approaches are constructed on top of salt ponds, with...
Management Keys: Freedom to Create, Responsibility for Failure
Management policies for inventors and engineers are reviewed in this interview with Professor Dan Pletta, University Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute...
Geotechnical Research Needs
A National Science Foundation-ASCE workshop on research needs looked at, among other subfields, geotechnical engineering. The study identified a number of research needs�based on society's...
Structural Plastics for the 80s
Engineers in non-civil fields have been using more and more light-weight, high-strength structural plastics and plastic composites every year, but civil engineers have barely begun to...
Structures Around the World�Celebration of Man's Creativity
At the ASCE New York International Convention in May, the most talked about subject was structures. Some of those described are among man's most beautiful and impressive works,...
Swiss Bridge Design Spans Time and Distance
Having long played crucial roles in Switzerlands history, modern bridges there now lead technical innovation in design and construction. Two recently completed Swiss Bridges bridges of...
Structural Failures
A relatively few, spectacular failures of new buildings have caught the public attention. Despite the publicity, the track record of structural designers is generally outstanding. Nevertheless,...
Stop the World-- I Want to Get Off!
The essays that won first and third prizes in the 1981 Essay Contest are presented. The first-prize essay, by John Huston, is entitled Stop the world�� I want to get off. It is a satire...
A Guide for the Field Testing of Bridges
The history and present use of bridge testing are reviewed. The benefits of bridge testing include safety and reliability, the money saved by not constructing a new bridge, the improvement...
Annotated Bibliography on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering
Articles, reports, books, data and other information relative to lifeline earthquake engineering are listed as a guide to researchers and practicing engineers. Each citation in the bibliography...
Roof Design: Avoid Ponding by Sloping to Drain
Roofing contractors recommend that roofs possess enough slope to permit complete drainage within 48 hours of rainfall. Otherwise ponds will form which can cause leakage and even contribute...
America's Covered Bridges
Soon after the Revolutionary War, bridge construction became more important in the United States. Early builders developed by trail and error an economical, permanent, long-span covered...
Alaska's Native Log Bridges
There are several thousand bridges of this type which carry heavy logging trucks in Alaska and remote areas of the lower 48 states. Covers bridge safety, wheel-load distribution, field...
West Virginia Cooling Tower Collapse Caused by Premature Form Removal
The collapse of a reinforced concrete cooling tower under construction at Willow Island, W.Va. in April 1978 resulted in 51 fatalities, making it the worst construction accident in American...
Hartford Coliseum Roof Collapse: Structural Collapse Sequence and Lessons Learned
As with all structural failures, the collapse of the Hartford Civic Center Coliseum roof has raised many questions about design and analysis procedures. The profession should learn from...
Re-decking a Bridge With Precast Concrete
Re-decking a 1627-ft deck girder bridge on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with precast concrete slabs allowed the bridge to remain partially open to traffice during the entire construction...
Research Needs in Hydraulics, Coastal Engineering and Irrigation
Last June an ASCE/NSF team gathered at Warrenton, Va., to prioritize research needs in civil engineering. They split the field into 10 subcategories, one of which is Hydraulics, Coastal...
Basics in Failure Analysis of Large Structures
Failure analysis procedures can usually determine the most probalbe cause of a structural failure. Then it is possible to determine why the initial design, materials selection, and fabrication...
Return to search