Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Civil Engineering
Lessons From Roman Cement And Concrete, Norbert J. Delatte
Lessons From Roman Cement And Concrete, Norbert J. Delatte
Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications
Although masonry and lime mortars had been used for centuries by earlier civilizations, the Romans were the first to extensively use naturally occurring volcanic earth to make hydraulic cement. The volcanic powder named “pulvis puteolanis,” found near the town of Puteoli near Naples (now Pozzouli), was used to build magnificent structures. The use of this hydraulic cement in masonry and concrete greatly expanded civil engineering possibilities. The Roman engineer Vitruvius, writing in The Ten Books on Architecture, described the careful materials selection, proportioning, and workmanship that was critical to the performance of Roman concrete. Masonry and coarse and fine …
Another Look At Hartford Civic Center Coliseum Collapse, Rachel Martin, Norbert J. Delatte
Another Look At Hartford Civic Center Coliseum Collapse, Rachel Martin, Norbert J. Delatte
Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications
Only a few hours after five thousand basketball fans had left, the roof of the Hartford Civic Center Coliseum collapsed under a heavy snowfall. Fortunately, the arena was empty. The design of the space frame roof had been based on an innovative and extensive computer analysis. However, when deflections twice as great as those predicted by the computer analysis were observed during construction, the warning was ignored. Overconfidence in computer analysis results played a large part in this failure. A useful lesson from this case is that the computer is only an analytical tool and computed results must be checked …