- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Coaching Changes
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message

History of Skyscrapers/Structural Members?
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:08 pm
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:08 pm
Anyone got a book about the early skyscrapers or construction/structural design in general? I'm reading a book that tangentially discusses the rise of skyscrapers in late 80s, but it just boggles my mind how they figured this stuff out.
I studied civil engineering in school so I had structural analysis classes, and I can't imagine how some of these designers figured this stuff out. How did they learn about the difference in material properties between iron and steel as steel become material of choice?
I'm sure they just overdesigned the hell out of stuff, but how people discovered things like that is so interesting to me. I struggled with some of that design stuff and I could look the majority of it up in the steel book and had a calculator. How did they do it back before all that? I'm sure there had to be some sort of catastrophic failures.
Much appreciate any recommendations
!
I studied civil engineering in school so I had structural analysis classes, and I can't imagine how some of these designers figured this stuff out. How did they learn about the difference in material properties between iron and steel as steel become material of choice?
I'm sure they just overdesigned the hell out of stuff, but how people discovered things like that is so interesting to me. I struggled with some of that design stuff and I could look the majority of it up in the steel book and had a calculator. How did they do it back before all that? I'm sure there had to be some sort of catastrophic failures.
Much appreciate any recommendations
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:11 pm to FootballNostradamus
heh heh he said 'structural members'
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:27 pm to Kingpenm3
quote:
Kingpenm3
Thanks!
Think that was a little less-detailed of a book then I was looking for, but it lead me down to a couple that I think I'd really like.
Appreciate it!
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:40 pm to FootballNostradamus
"Evolution of Concrete Skyscrapers: from Ingalls to Jin mao"
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:45 pm to FootballNostradamus
Those bastids had balls of steel "pun not intended."
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:47 pm to FootballNostradamus
This was a very good one on the WTC:


Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:49 pm to FootballNostradamus
quote:they were making metal mixtures back in 3150 BC. ever heard of the Bronze Age?
How did they learn about the difference in material properties between iron and steel as steel become material of choice?
quote:you know that steel book has all the equations that calculate the numbers in the tables?
I'm sure they just overdesigned the hell out of stuff, but how people discovered things like that is so interesting to me. I struggled with some of that design stuff and I could look the majority of it up in the steel book and had a calculator. How did they do it back before all that? I'm sure there had to be some sort of catastrophic failures.
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:50 pm to DoUrden
This is not OSHA approved safety practices.
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:51 pm to FootballNostradamus
quote:
Thanks!
No prob. I couldn't find pictures of what I was looking for, which was those guys throwing those glowing rivets to each other way up there in the sky. Crazy how good we can become at something with repetition.
Posted on 5/26/16 at 1:54 pm to FootballNostradamus
Look at early bridge design. They were the first major metal structures that developed into modern steel structure design. There is plenty of public info out there because of historical/preservation societies and frequent bridge inspection.
Posted on 5/26/16 at 2:01 pm to FootballNostradamus
You must be a shitty engineer
Posted on 5/26/16 at 2:36 pm to djangochained
quote:
You must be a shitty engineer
Lol, prob so. I knew it was a good degree but never once planned to use it and never did (thankfully).
Posted on 5/26/16 at 2:46 pm to CarRamrod
quote:
they were making metal mixtures back in 3150 BC. ever heard of the Bronze Age?
Well yea. I could include earlier eras in my query, but all of that interests me. Mainly just how they learned about the strength and material properties of this kinda stuff interests me. It's one thing to have all of these testing facilities and computing tools we have now that develop the strength properties, but I just can't imagine how they determined that back in the day.
quote:
you know that steel book has all the equations that calculate the numbers in the tables?
Yes I know that, but, like I mentioned, how did they get the strength figures, and the elasticity, and all that kinda stuff (don't remember all of the figures anymore, but I know there were tons depending on the structural member you were using)?
I just think it's incredibly impressive people who genuinely discover and innovate are beyond impressive. So much of the maths/sciences in school are things kids struggle with and they're being taught to us by a paid professional (in theory), and it just interests me how smart the people who actually discovered this shite were.
Posted on 5/26/16 at 3:04 pm to FootballNostradamus
quote:
Yes I know that, but, like I mentioned, how did they get the strength figures, and the elasticity, and all that kinda stuff (don't remember all of the figures anymore, but I know there were tons depending on the structural member you were using)?

Posted on 5/26/16 at 3:08 pm to DoUrden
Seeing these pictures always makes my balls ascend
Posted on 5/26/16 at 3:09 pm to FootballNostradamus
CE here - I just read an article about the emerging field of using composite wood to build sky scrapers. Could be game changer.
Posted on 5/26/16 at 3:27 pm to AUCE05
quote:
CE here - I just read an article about the emerging field of using composite wood to build sky scrapers. Could be game changer.
The closest I ever came to using my engineering degree was a summer internship at a structural engineering firm that worked almost exclusively in wood design. I was stunned at some of the structures they could build with those composite wood (and this was almost a decade ago).
I can only imagine what they can do now.
Popular
Back to top

10













