The Shape of Things to Come
High-performance steel (HPS) offers improved toughness and durability for bridge construction. This article presents several innovative concepts for HPS structural systems�including I-girders...
Closing in on Approval
A lack of qualification criteria and design standards has hindered some engineers from using fiber-reinforced polymers to restore concrete structures. But several organizations�among them,...
Water In, Water Out
Moving water into and out of the Eastside Reservoir, which will be the largest body of freshwater in southern California, requires some of the largest pumping and water conveyance systems...
On the New Waterfront
The Hoboken South Waterfront along the Hudson River is being relandscaped to create parks and streets on new and existing deck structures in a joint project of the city of Hoboken, New...
Walled In (Available in Geo-Environmental Special Issue only)
For more than 50 years manufacturing plants adjacent to the northeast bank of a midwestern creek produced asbestos-reinforced construction materials. When manufacturing at the plants ceased...
Ethics: A Design Responsibility
The design/build method of project delivery, because it largely removes the client from the quality control and assurance process, can lend itself to unethical behavior on the part of...
Keeping It Together
A new framing system for precast concrete columns and beams will allow tall buildings to withstand large earthquakes without damage to the structural integrity of the building. By using...
Box Girder Balancing Act
On November 18, 1999, cranes lowered into place the last of 202 precast concrete segments that form the main span of the new Sagadahoc Bridge, a $46.6 million crossing that boasts the...
Sum of the Parts
As with all of the bay bridges that serve as life lines to the San Francisco peninsula, the 32-year-old San Mateo Bridge needs strengthening to withstand a maximum credible earthquake...
Above Them All
The design for what would be the next world's tallest building relies on a 1,550 ft (472 m) high concrete core that will give occupants of the top floors of the building unimpeded...
Scenic-Bridge Strengthening (Available in Structural Engineering Special Issue only)
Built in 1937, California's Big Creek Bridge�a double-arch crossing with half-arch side spans�was due for a seismic retrofit. Challenged by the structure's unique...
Double Domed (Available in Structural Engineering Special Issue only)
A 45,000-seat soccer stadium under construction in La Plata, Argentina, takes domed roof design to the next level. A Tenstar dome, first used in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, consists of...
Branching Out (Available in Structural Engineering Special Issue only)
The Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany is currently undergoing its biggest construction project to date: a $200 million, five-story addition. Close and productive collaboration between the...
On Martian Soil
Discussions are ongoing about how and when to build human settlements on other worlds. Many scientific discussions have focused on settlements on Mars, and how the initial colonists would...
Design of Structure and Damping System to Control Motions of the Park Tower, Chicago
Park Tower, a 67 story condominium/hotel project currently under construction on the Magnificent Mile, Chicago, IL, will be the first building in North America in recent times that utilizes...
Inside Job
River Mill Dam is a large Ambursen (buttress type) dam constructed in 1911 on the Clackamas River in Oregon. The preliminary and final design phase of the seismic upgrade project coincided...
Added Protection
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is modifying the 335 ft (102 m) high Casitas Dam in Ventura County, California, to withstand a magnitude 6.9 earthquake. The modification includes strengthening...
Into the Tunnel
Technological advances in wind tunnel testing and computer-aided design programs are enabling engineers to create taller and more aesthetically interesting buildings than ever before....
Testing the Load (Available in Geoenvironmental Engineering Special Issue only)
The Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently began construction of a new gated dam to replace a nearly 100-year-old concrete fixed-crest dam on the Monongahela...
A New Skew
Most bridges that cross roadways or other elements at a skewed angle are designed based on right-angle crossings with inefficient modifications. A new concept for skewed crossings is a...
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