Teton Dam Failure
In June 1976, Teton Dam in Idaho failed. It was an earthfill dam 305 ft high. It failed by piping through the impermeable core of the dam. Among factors believed contributing to failure:...
Rebar Splices: Cutting Costs, Avoiding Errors
Practical advice for cost-cutting in reinforced concrete construction suggests improvements in accepted design and specifications, procedures and specific items. Brief recommendations...
Philadelphia Bridge Sparked Growth of Prestressed Concrete in the U.S.
Prestressing has been used for centuries. For instance, iron bands were heat-shrunk over built-up wooden wheels to increase their resistance to damage. In 1888, a man named Jackson from...
Concrete Canoe Racing Stimulates Interest in ASCE Student Chapter
Concrete Canoe construction and racing have become a very popular ASCE Student Chapter activity. Such a program can publicize a chapter's activities in general and can serve...
Nambe Falls Dam�First Mechanically Prestressed Concrete Dam in U.S.
An unusual combination of a curved earth embankment, a concrete gravity thrust block, and concrete thin arch prestressed with embedded vertical flat jacks has created Nambe Falls Dam,...
Precast Liners May Cut Tunnel Cost 25%
On the Bureau of Reclamation's Buckskin Mountain's Tunnel in Arizona, the low bid was for $58,000,000, about $21,000,000 less than the low bid for design using...
The Story of Cement, Concrete and Reinforced Concrete
When the dawn of history, man has sought for materials to cement stone and brick together. When rebuilding the Eddystone lighthouse in 1756, John Smeaton recognized ordinary lime morter...
George Washington Bridge Redecked with Prefabricated, Prepaved Steel Panels
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has embarked on a �37,000,000 project to totally replace the upper roadway of the 46-yr old George Washington Bridge. The scheme, chosen from...
Dallas Expressway Quickly Rehabilitates With Aid of Giant Cold-Milling Machine
The Dallas, Texas Central Expressway, one of the most intensively used roads in the U.S., was plagued by a deteriorating and bumpy surface, and poor skid resistance. The pavement consisted...
Texas Uses Fabric to Protect Pavement from Cracks
Thin asphalt concrete overlays are susceptible to reflective cracking, which is the migration of the cracks in an old pavement into and subsequently through its overlay. To find a remedy...
State-of-the-Art Report Composite or Mixed Steel-Concrete Construction for Buildings
This report examines the interacting behavior of concrete with structural steel in building construction. Topics covered include composite columns, composite beams, trusses, and slabs,...
The Evaluation of Dam Safety
Proceedings of the Engineering Foundation Conference on the Evaluation of Dam Safety, held in the Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California, November 28 December 3, 1976....
Award-Winning ASCE Papers in Geotechnical Engineering 1950-1959
Papers, Discussions, and Closures from ASCE Proceedings and Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division
This collection of papers covers a broad range of relevant issues in geotechnical engineering. Topics include capillary phenomena in cohesive soils, final foundation treatment at Hoover...
The birth and growth of history's most exciting building material
Not until the early decades of this century did this most revolutionary of all structural materials arrive-prestressed concrete. Developed in Europe, prestressed concrete began its rapid...
Concentric Waste-Treatment Plant Saves Land
An activated-sludge treatment plant in Camden, N.Y. has several innovations: the principal one is the use of concentric tanks�� as distinct from the usual way of having separate, isolated...
Inflatable Dam Regulates River Level
Inflatable dams are economically feasible for maintaining a required constant water elevation on rivers and streams where flooding poses problems. Puncture resistant material, inflated...
Paul Bunyan Among Offshore Steel Structures
The world's two largest drydocks, the larger 1,150 x 800 ft in plan were used to assemble on land the four steel jackets. They now stand in the North Sea in about 400-ft of...
Concrete Barge of First Totally Offshore LPG Facility
Some 20 miles off Java, below waters 95-ft to 135-ft deep, is the Ardjuna Field, from which oil and gas soon will be taken. The adjacent coastal land is marshy, so onshore storage would...
Inverted Filter Stabilizes Soil, Stops Erosion
The inverted filter concept was invented by Karl Terzaghi to prevent dams from failing by water piping through the foundation. Laboratory and field testing have refined the necessary specifications...
Rio-Niteroi Bridge Features Record Girder Span
The six-lane highway bridge between Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi, Brazil, is 8.25 miles (13.3 km) long. There are 5.5 miles (8.9 km) constructed over the open waters of Guanabara Bay. The...
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