Home
>> Journals
>> Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering History and Heritage
Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering History and Heritage
Engineering History and Heritage is pleased to endorse International IABSE Conference, Rotterdam May 6 - 8, 2013: Assessment, Upgrading and Refurbishment of Infrastructures. To register, click here.
Engineering History and Heritage publishes papers
concerning existing infrastructure, buildings and civil engineering structures
around the world, and issues related to their conservation, restoration and
adaptation to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
- - To submit to this journal is free. Papers appear Ahead
of Print (below)
as soon as they are ready to be published. Ahead of print articles are fully
citable using the DOI system.
Latest News:
Latest content:
-
-
Authors:
David Beresford Stacey;
V. R. Visweswaran
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
The first centrally planned initiative to secure water for irrigation and control flooding in the Cauvery river basin, India, dates to c. 200 CE when Karikal Cholan constructed the Grand Anicut. The irrigation infrastructure was extended by British military engineers in the nineteenth century when several large barrages and regulators were constructed. In the twentieth century, water demand increased in those parts of the Cauvery basin in the Princely State of Mysore (now in Karnataka) and the Madras Presidency (now in Tamil Nadu). Disagreement between the states over water use was partially resolved by the agreements of 1892 and 1924. Two impressive reservoirs, the Krishnarajasagar in Mysore and the Mettur in the Madras Presidency, were then constructed on the Cauvery river; other smaller reservoirs were built on its tributaries. By 1972 over 1·2 Mha were being irrigated from the Cauvery. Rapid expansion of the irrigable areas, however, renewed the dispute over the use of the Cauvery waters. In 1990, the Cauvery water disputes tribunal was constituted but, despite its rulings, disagreements re-emerge in dry years. The history of the development of water resources in the Cauvery river basin is described in this paper.
-
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
-
-
Author:
Dermot O'Dwyer
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
-
-
Author:
Martin Barnes
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
Joseph Locke (1805–1860) was one of the four great railway civil engineers of the first phase of railway building in the UK and the wider world. Less well known than Brunel and the two Stephensons, he was a good manager of the projects of which he had charge and certainly the best manager of the four. The technology of civil engineering has changed hugely since Locke's time but the skills of the civil engineering manager have not. The lessons of Locke's career are therefore not only interesting but potentially instructive to modern civil engineers.
-
-
Author:
Guinevere Vivianne Nalder
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
In the period 1859–1941 the New Zealand governments built 38 major lighthouses; 30 of these were constructed during the period 1865–1897. Despite New Zealand's limited industrial base at the time, these usually represented the latest technology because New Zealand's lighthouse authorities drew directly on the existing Scottish technology. D. & T. Stevenson and its successor firms were retained as consulting engineers, firms including Milne & Son, James Dove, Chance Bros, and French glass makers manufactured lanterns and apparatus to Scottish designs, and Scottish firms supplied stores. The New Zealand lighthouse service was based on the Northern Lighthouse Board model.
-
-
Author:
Hans Seland
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
In Norway around 1840 a new generation of politicians and professionals looked abroad for technology to help modernise the productive sectors and associated transport infrastructure. In 1838, at a time when British mentors inspired a common international technological culture, roadmaster G. D. B. Johnson went on a government mission to Britain and around the North Sea to study modern roads and bridges, harbours and the new railroads. Johnson's schedule of 100 days was ambitious and his notes were not always accurate or based on sight. This paper outlines how Johnson sought out and copied two British suspension bridges to design Norway's first of its kind. Both Johnson and his competitor Bergh made successful careers at the forefront of contemporary technologies. Johnson advised against Norwegian railroads, but worked in vain to introduce stone tramways. His report cum engineering textbook illustrates the historical value of little known foreign reports of the British Industrial Revolution.
-
-
Authors:
Geoff Thornton;
Benjamin Welsh;
Peter Harris;
Graham Cliff
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
Calver weir lies at the centre of a stretch of the River Derwent in North Derbyshire, UK, which is locally renowned for its attractive natural appeal. The weir creates the high-level upstream river and the resulting wetlands. The weir was built in the eighteenth century to provide water to power a mill. In the twentieth century some repairs were carried out but these subsequently failed, leaving the weir in a dangerous condition. A company, called the Calver Weir Restoration Project, was set up to restore the weir. This paper describes the weir, the problems encountered, solutions and the reconstruction works and amenities for water voles around the side of the fish pass.
-
-
Author:
William Addis
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
-
-
Authors:
Georgia Mavrogonatou;
Konstantinos Chatzis
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
The Marathon dam was built by American contractor Ulen & Company from 1926–1929 to provide water for Athens. The water was delivered to the Galatsi water treatment plant through the 13·4 km long Boyati tunnel and was an important milestone in the technological advancement of modern Greece. This gravity dam is 54 m tall and 285 m long and impounds a reservoir with a capacity of 41 000 000 m3, and was one of the largest construction projects in Europe at the time. Designed and built by a firm based in New York, the Marathon dam was by no means a purely American product: Greek engineers played key roles in all aspects of its planning, design and construction. The history of the Marathon dam thus illustrates that large engineering projects in countries deemed to be located on the edge of the developed world are seldom mono-faceted processes comprising an active ‘transmitter’ and a passive ‘receptor’. The authors conclude that new insights and substantial reappraisals of engineering projects can emerge if historians of technology consider them as examples of active cooperation between technologically more advanced and less developed nations, rather than assuming they consist only of one-directional technological transfer.
-
-
Authors:
Willemijne Linssen;
Pieter Raymaekers
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
The paper provides a comparative analysis of two engineering institutions in nineteenth-century Belgium and Britain, the pioneer nations of the industrial revolution situated on each side of the North Sea. The Association des ingénieurs sortis de l'école de Liège is examined in parallel with the pioneer engineering association, the Institution of Civil Engineers. The authors look at the key issues involved in running a flourishing engineering society in a Western capitalist industrial nation during the nineteenth century. They conclude that they depend, to a large extent, on the national context in which the engineering profession was allowed to develop. Although there were clearly major national divergences in the fields of education, institutional proliferation and membership, there were similarities regarding their mission statement, chairmanship, field of expertise and internationalisation.
-
-
Authors:
Timothy J. Peters;
Stephen F. Brown
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
Arthur Brome Wilson (1866–1944) was a civil engineer with a special interest in canals. This paper records his life including his genealogy, training, career both in the UK and in North and Central America and his specialist military service (1918–1922). His major project in the UK involved extensive repairs to the Thames–Severn Canal in Gloucestershire in 1901–1905. Owned at the time by Gloucestershire County Council, extensive records and correspondence for this project survive and have been consulted by the authors. Wilson pioneered the use of concrete for lining the canal summit, particularly for construction of the Sapperton Tunnel where geological challenges led to extensive leakages. The paper demonstrates some of the difficulties in researching a little-known peripatetic engineer and illustrates the professional challenges faced by an independent civil engineer during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
-
-
Authors:
Marilyn Palmer;
Ian West
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
The country house was the dominant feature of life in most parts of rural Britain until the early twentieth century, providing the economic and social focus for the whole community. From the late eighteenth century, owners were increasingly motivated to design or upgrade their houses to provide increased comfort for themselves and their guests, and to improve the efficiency of the house's operation. This goal was facilitated by a wide range of new types of domestic technology, which had a profound effect on the lives of the people who lived and worked in these houses. The paper presents some findings of a research project based at the University of Leicester, studying the factors influencing the adoption of new technology in country houses and its impact on the inhabitants. The conclusions are helping to inform changes in the way that country houses are presented to the visiting public.
-
-
Author:
David Harrison
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
Until 1770 England had a huge road network making use of medieval bridges. Now, only about 100 major medieval bridges survive. Although no accurate survey has yet been undertaken, it is estimated that over 80% of the major medieval bridges were demolished during the period 1770–1830. The paper looks at the reasons for this widespread demolition programme. The pattern of demolition was varied: over some rivers most medieval bridges were replaced; over others, many remain. Apart from a poor state of repair, the main reason for demolition was that they were inadequate for new wheeled transport. However, many bridges could have been repaired and widened, as some indeed were. Many were demolished because of a shift in attitudes – a desire for modern, fashionable structures. Only in the 1870s did the option to preserve and restore old bridges start to gain popularity and few ancient bridges have been demolished since that time. This study of the post-medieval history of ancient bridges provides valuable insights and background knowledge for civil engineers dealing with old bridges.
-
-
Author:
Dermot O'Dwyer
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
-
-
Author:
William Addis
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
-
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
-
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
-
- + Show Description- Hide Description
-
Most viewed this month in this journal:
- William Tierney Clark and the Buda-Pesth chain bridge
- Author(s):
P. Vaci Sandor
+ Show Description
- Hide Description
- Construction of the famous chain bridge over the River Danube in the fifth decade of the nineteenth century was a major engineering, architectural and logistical challenge. Full appreciation of this achievement is, however, only possible when viewed in the historical context of the convergence of British industrial revolution expertise with the ambitions of Hungary set on reform. The driving force behind the Hungarian reform movement, Count István Széchenyi, met bridge engineer par excellence William Tierney Clark in 1832, leading to completion of the bridge in 1849. A great deal happened during its construction and from its inauguration to the present day, and this paper touches briefly on this later history. Whilst Széchenyi has been canonised in his native Hungary, Clark is a somewhat overlooked figure in civil engineering history. An additional aim of this paper is thus to rekindle interest in his qualities and achievements.
- The safety of masonry buttresses
Author(s): S. Huerta
+ Show Description
- Hide Description
- The vault is the main element in most historical buildings. Masonry vaults exert an inclined thrust that must be resisted by a substantial mass of masonry: the buttress. The buttress system assures the safety of the whole construction. Most traditional structural design rules addressed the problem of buttress design. Today, an architect or engineer assessing the structural safety of a historical construction needs to estimate the safety of the buttress system with accuracy. This is not an easy matter. Among other possible failures, a buttress may fracture under certain conditions with a substantial loss of stability, it may show a certain leaning or it may be separated from the wall. Furthermore, buttress systems are complex structures – a combination of walls and counterforts, flying buttresses, etc. – made of different types of masonry, and their assessment cannot be handled in an abstract way. This paper outlines the development of buttress design since around 1700 to explain the main approaches used and to provide a historical context. The paper then goes on to summarise the state-of-the-art in modern masonry buttress analysis and to discuss estimations of safety.
- Structural art: John S. Eastwood and the multiple arch dam
Author(s): D. C. Jackson
+ Show Description
- Hide Description
- In his landmark book The Tower and the Bridge, engineering professor/historian David Billington proposes the concept of ‘structural art’ and, with a focus on bridges, thin shell roofs and tall buildings, describes its relationship to the ideals of efficiency, economy and elegance. Dams are not discussed in The Tower and the Bridge, apparently because the massive gravity designs commonly built for major projects represent bulky, inefficient designs. Moving beyond gravity dam technology, this paper explores how John S. Eastwood's work designing multiple arch dams accords with Billington's idea of structural art. Eastwood built the world's first reinforced concrete multiple arch dam at Hume Lake, California in 1908 and during the last 15 years of his life became a prominent proponent of the technology. Eastwood's designs, how they correlate to the ideals of efficiency, economy and elegance, and how he integrated mathematical theory into his design methodology comprise the focus of this paper. In addition, issues of visual appearance and their effect upon professional acceptance of Eastwood's design are also considered. By employing the concept of structural art as a prism for studying multiple arch dams, the article elucidates an important aspect of hydraulic engineering history.
More >
- Does the engineering heritage matter?
Author(s): Neil Cossons
+ Show Description
- Hide Description
- This paper emphasises the importance of the engineering heritage as an integral part of the past that the engineering profession wishes to take into the future, its significance in terms of the pedigree of engineering and the crucial need to engage with the public and the wider heritage movement. It sets out the issues surrounding the conservation of the engineering heritage with examples of some of the achievements and dilemmas.
- Wellington Street Swing Bridge, Hull, UK
Author(s): A. Taylor;
C. Plant;
J. Dickerson
+ Show Description
- Hide Description
- The growth of Hull as a British port at the time of William Wilberforce (1759–1833) saw the construction of docks and dock bridges similar to those in London, Plymouth and Liverpool. These structures now form an essential part of Britain's heritage and are rightly protected under listed buildings and conservation regulations. However, they remain at risk, especially if left unused. For several years, Hull City Council has been developing a conservation policy for its nine listed bridges and a comprehensive historical audit was thus required. This paper looks back into the history of Hull Docks and the development of cast-iron swing bridges between 1800 and 1850. The paper describes the design of Hull's cast-iron Wellington Street Swing Bridge as part of a scheme for restoration of the bridge to working order. When the bridge was originally built, it would have been required to carry horse-drawn traffic that would probably have weighed no more than 5 t in total and carried commodities at walking pace, thus minimising the impact factor. Its new role, to stimulate community living and regeneration, is to offer pedestrian and cycle use with occasional use by vehicles weighing up to 7·5 t. The original bridge design may have been based on a three-pinned arch, although this is just speculation. The recent design by consulting engineer Pell Frischmann considered the bridge's articulation; this is described together with other parameters that influenced analysis of the cast-iron structure
- The construction of the Kiev Suspension Bridge 1846–1853
Author(s): John Vignoles
+ Show Description
- Hide Description
- In 1846, the Tsar Nicholas I of Russia commissioned Charles Blacker Vignoles to build a fixed crossing over the River Dnieper at Kiev. Opened in 1853, the resultant suspension bridge, involving the construction of foundations in the fast-flowing river, was the largest multispan suspension bridge in Europe at the time. In the paper, the author, a direct descendant of C.B. Vignoles, describes the design, procurement and construction of the bridge between 1846 and 1853, drawing on information from Vignoles' journals and letters, and also from other contemporary documents. He also makes use of material derived from recently discovered sketches and progress photographs taken by John Cooke Bourne and Roger Fenton – this was one of the first times photography had been used specifically to record construction progress.
< Less