Engineering Structures 101

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Engineering Structures 101

• Structural Engineering From the Beginning
• Professor Martin FaheyHead, School of Civil
  Resource EngineeringRoom A1.10(e-mail
  fahey_at_civil.uwa.edu.au)

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Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. 1150 -1220.
Example of Gothic Architecture
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Notre Dame de Paris. 1150 -1220.
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Notre Dame de Paris
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Notre Dame de Paris North Rose Window. Suspended
in perfect equilibrium on a web of stone, the
immense north rose window remains intact after
700 years, its intricately interlocking blocks so
exact they ring when struck. Though individual
blocks may be removed for repairs without
collapsing the whole, only minor buckling has
occurred
17 m
13 m
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Notre Dame de Paris. Schematic sections showing
the flying butresses
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Decorative features on tops of columns (statues,
pinnacles, as in Notre Dame, below) have
stabilising function
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Construction of a Gothic cathedral
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Bourges Cathedral, France, 1214. Most efficient
flying buttress system ever constructed.
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Sections through various French Gothic
Cathedrals, showing progressive development
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Amiens Cathedral, France, 1220.
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Thrusts in flying buttresses (left) and structure
of a groin vault (above)
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Dome 3-dimensional equivalent of an
arch.Pantheon, Rome, 118-128 AD. Temple to all
the gods
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Pantheon, Rome, 118-128 AD. Construction of the
dome (concrete).
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Interior of dome of Pantheon is semi- circular
(hemispherical)
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Outward thrust of the dome taken by 8 m thick
composite heavy wall
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(No Transcript)
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Pantheon Interior. Biggest clear span until 19th
century
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Pantheon Interior. Light provided by circular
hole (occulus) in the top
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Hagia, Sophia, Istanbul, 537 AD. Largest church
for 9 centuries.
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Hagia, Sophia, Istanbul, 537 AD. Interior,
showing support system for central dome
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Hagia, Sophia, Istanbul, 537 AD. Schematic
showing support system for central dome
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Hagia, Sophia, Istanbul, 537 AD.
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Comparison of sizes of various domes
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Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy. Begun in
1296. Segmented dome added by Brunelleschi in
1436. 42 m span, 91 m high. Built without
centering
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Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy. Begun in
1296. Dome added by Brunelleschi in 1436. 42 m
span, 91 m high. Built without centering Shape
is arch a quinto acuto
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Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, is not
hemispherical, but is made up of 8 segments.
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St Peters Basilica, Rome, Michaelangelo, 1546
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Dome of St Peters Basilica, Rome, Michaelangelo,
1546
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Interior of St Peters Basilica, Rome, showing
dome resting on four arches supported by four
great pillars
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Hanging chain analysis of Dome of St Peters,
by Giovani Poleni, 1742
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Gateway Arch, St Louis, USA. This free-standing
arch is 630 ft. high and the world's tallest.
Built of triangular section of double-walled
stainless steel, the space between the skins
being filled with concrete after each section was
placed. Looks like perfect inverted catenary
shape.
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Interior of Carmel Mission. Built in 1793 it is
an interesting design in that the walls curve
inward towards the top, and the roof consists of
a series of inverted catenary arches built of
native sandstone quarried from the nearby
Santa Lucia Mountains. (Carmel, California)
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St Pauls Cathedral, London (1675-1708).
Christopher Wren
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St Pauls Cathedral Dome
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St Pauls Cathedral Dome (3 domes inside each
other)
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Hookes hanging chain concept applied to the
dome of Christopher Wrens St Pauls Cathedral.
The lantern on top of the dome distorts the
chain
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Sources
The pictures contained in this presentation were
either downloaded from the Internet, or scanned
in from books. The sources are too numerous to
list.