Tag: Civil Engineering

Trusses

Trusses

Trusses

08/28/16

“What is the fundamental framework behind many modern structures?”

 

Have you ever wondered what exactly makes moderns structures such as bridges and houses supportable? Well, believe it or not, all of these complex structures have their foundations in a straightforward yet ingenious engineering piece, the beam. And not just beams by themselves, but beams arranged in a very particular way. When making edifices, one must take into account that beams have very little lateral strength. In other words, beams do not have much strength to support perpendicular forces. However, beams are very sturdy when it comes to compressive and tensile forces. So in order to build complex structures, beams must be construed in a way that all of the forces are applied at the joints so that all of the forces are either compressive or tensile forces. We can accomplish this by having the beams must be connected only by their joints. This way, all of the loads will  be distributed on the ends of the beam, so we can have highly stable structures without having to worry about collapse. This type of framework is called a truss, and is used in all forms of engineering.

Expansion joints

Expansion joints

Expansion joints

08/09/16

“How can we improve structures to account for thermal expansion?”

There is a problem when one decides to design bridges and roads, and it comes from one very simple facet of the physical universe, temperature. The laws of physics dictate that when an object changes temperature, it’s dimensions will change accordingly. So when we need to build a structure such as a bridge or a road with exact configurations, we will run into a major issue. So how can we solve the problem of thermal expansion and it’s related issues such as internal buckling? Well, how about we design the structure so that it allows for some volumetric change? This idea is called an expansion joint. Expansion joints are when small gaps are placed in a structure, repeating for a set distance, so that associated thermal expansion will not cause internal strife. Expansion joints are used in a myriad of different structures, ranging from railroads to bridges.