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    GORDON - J - E-Structures - or Why Things Don't Fall Down

    Enviado por

    serban_nicoara

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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    For those who find difficulty in communicating with engineers, Professor Gordonis a godsend His The New Scence of Sworg Mctenals made plain the secrets of materials science, and now with this volume he ‘explains the importance and properties of cifferent structures in away whieh wil appeal to everyone. Engiiee*s will of course understand way the Greeks took the wheels offtheir chariots at right, or why we get lumbag, why birds have feathers and how much scence is involved in dressmakng as well as the streng:h of bridges, boats and 2eoplanes. Professor Gordon explzins all these things, shown how vie need io be strong and to suppert various o2ds has infuenced the development of al sorts of creatures and devices — nduding man For this book is about modem views or the structural element in nature, technology and everyday Ire. Its up-to-date, "thraling and entertaining into the bargain ‘Asplendid book... written in evtertaining and thought-provoking style .. [i] shoukd be required reacing for all of us whether azed 16 or 60! — AG. Atking tet gomsnaztparar ‘APELICAN BOOK ‘Scieme/ Tichasiay ©9000 Bias a | iene oManeaersers aw! siz.t3 © STRUCTURES COATES TEST Oo gi eae oT Pelican Books ‘Structures. James Edward Gordon was bora in 1913. He 100k ‘degree in naval architecture at Glasgow University and worked in wood and sted shipyatds, intending to design sailing sips. On the outbreak of the Second World War he moved tothe Royal Aircraft Establishment at . Farnborough, where be worked on wooden aircraft, plastics and unorthodox materials of all kinds, He designed the sailing rescue dinghies carried atone tire by most bomber aircraft. He later became head ofthe plastics structures section at Farnborough and developed a method ‘of construction in asbestos-reinforced plastics hich is now used for a number of purposes in aircraft and rockets, For several frostrating years he worked in industry on the strength of glass and the growth of strong "whisker erystals In 1962 he returned to government service as superintendent ‘of an experimental branch at Waltham Abbey ‘concerned with research and development of entirely new structural materials mest of which are based on whisker’. He was Indusrial Fellow ‘Commoner at Churchill College, Cambridge, and ‘became Professor of Materials Technology atthe University of Reading, where he is now Professor Emeritus. He has been awarded the British Silver ‘Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society for ‘work on aircraft plastics and also the Gritith ‘Medial of the Materials Science Club for ‘contributions to materials science. His book The [Neve Science of Song Materials has also been published in Penguins. Professor J. . Gordon is married and has two ‘grown-up sons. His spare-time interests are sailing. Greek. photography and! sk-ing. J.E.Gordon Structures or Why Things Don’t Fall Down Penguin Books Published by the Penguin Group 27 Wrghts Lane, London WS 372, Eagloed Penguin Books Asai Ud, Ringwod, Vitra, Acta Penguin Books Canaca Lt, 380 John Stet, Marko, Ontario, Canad 3B 1B4 Penguin Books (NZ) Lid 82-19) Wana Read, Acton TD, New Zann Penguit Books Lid, Registered Otcs: Hasmondsworth Middlesex, England Fi pubtshed 1978 [Reprsed 1979 1980, 1981, 1989, 1984, 1986, 1987 Copyright © J. E. Gordon, 1978 ‘Atri resved Printed ad Bound ie Gret Bintan by (Cox & Wyman Lid Reasing Setin Monotype Ties Erospt inthe United State of Americ, this ook sod subject ‘ote contion tht sll ot, y way of trae oF therm, be Feat ‘sold, ed out, of oorvaeccuntd wthou the shes pir consent i ny form ef indigo cover other than {hatin which iis published and wot a sma cnditon {naling tht condition Ring impose on the saguent purchaser ‘To my grandchildren, ‘Timothy and Alexander Among the innumerable mortfcations which waylay Iuaman arrogance on every side may ell be reckoned our ignorance ofthe most commman objects ‘and effeis,adefect of which we become more sensible by every attempt to supply it, Valgar and Inactive minds confound familiarity with knowledge ‘and conceive themselves informed ofthe whole nature of things when they are shown thei form or {old their use; but the speeulatst, who isnot content with superficial views, harasces himself with fatless ‘curiosity, and till ashe ingures more, perecives (only that he knows less, ‘Samuel Johnson, The Ider (Saturday, 25 ‘November 1758) Contents Listof Plates Foreword Acknowledgements 4 The structures in our lives -or how so communicate with engineers Part One The dificult birth ofthe science of elasticity 22 Why structures carry loads - or the springiness of solids 83 The invention of stress and strain ~ or Baron (Cauchy and the decipherment of Your's modulus 4 Designing for safety or can you really trust Strength calealtions ? 5 Strain energy and modern fracture mechanics with adigresionon bows, catapults and argaroos Part Two Teasion structures {8 Teasion structures and pressure vessels = wlth some remarks on boilers, bats and Chinese unk 7 Joints, fastenings and people ~ also about ‘ereep ane chariot wheels 1 Soft materials and living structures —or how to design a worm Part Three Compression end bending structures 8 Walls, arches and dams or eloudcapp'd towers and the stability of masonry 410 Something about bridges or Saint Bénezét ‘and Saint Isambard 11 Theadvantage of beinga beam - with ‘observations on roofs, trusses and masts " B as a 4 as m2 9 im 198 210 49. Contents $2 The mysteries of shear and torsion -or Polaris an the Bas-cu nightie 18 The various ways of failing in compression or sandbriches, skulls and Dr Euler Part Four And theconsequence was... 14 The philosophy of design or the shape, the weight and the cost 35 A chapter of accidents — a study si, error ‘nd metal fatigue 16 ficiency and aesthetics —or the world we fave toliveia Appendix 1 Handbooks and formulae Appendix 2 Beam theory Appendix 3 Torsion Appendix 4 The efficiency of columns and panels undet ‘compression loads Suggestions for further study Index g #928 8 8 8 8 List of Plates 4 Bent masonry column in Salisbury Cathedral, 2 Siress concentration at crack tip (courtesy Dr Richard Chaplin). ‘8 “Anearism’ in cylindrical balloon. 4 Section of artery wall tissue (courtesy Dr Julian Vincent). 5 Corbelled vaultat Tins. 6 Semi-corbelled postern gate at Tryns. 17 Clare bridge, Cambridge (courtesy Professor ‘Adrian Horridge, RS). {8 Teraple of the Olympian Zeus, Athens, 9 Skeletons of gibbon and gorilla. 110 Maidenhead railway bridge. 414. Menai suspension bridge (courtesy Institution of Civil Engineers) 412 Severn suspeasion bridge (courtesy British ‘Steel Corporation). ‘83 King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. 14 AMS, Victory (couresy MS. Victory Muscum. Crown copyright). 45 American trestle bridge. 46 Britannia bridge (courtesy Institution of (Civil Engineers). . {and 18 Vionnet dresses (courtesy Mars Nethercot and Vogue magazine), 42 ListofPiates 419 Wagner tension field (courtesy The Fairey Company Lid). 20 Tacoma Narrows bridge (courtesy Institution ‘of Civil Engineers). 24 Portsmouth block-making machinery (Crown copyright. Science Museum, London). 2 Watson steam yacht (courtesy G. L. Watson &Co. Lid), 2 The Parthenon, 24 TheLion Gate, Mycenae. Tam very much aware that it is an act of extreme rashness to ‘attempt to write an elementary book about structures. Indeed itis ‘only when the subject is stripped of its mathematics that one begins to realize how difficult itis to pin down and describe those “structural concepts which are often called ‘elementary’; by which [suppose we mean ‘basic’ or “fundamental”. Some of the omis~ sions and oversimplifications are intentional but no doubt some of them are due to my own brute ignorance and lack of under standing of the subject. ‘Although this volume is more or fess @ sequel to The New Science of Strong Materials it can be read as an entirely separate ‘book in its own right, For this reason a certain amount of repeti- tion has been unavoidable n the earlier chapters. Thave to thank a great many people for factual information, ‘suggestions and for stimulating and sometimes heated discussions, Among the living, my colleagues at Reading Ur ‘have been, ‘generous with help, notably Professor W. D. Biggs (Professor of Building Technology), Dr Richard Chaplin, Dr Giorgi Jeronimidis, Dr Julian’ Vincent and Dr Henry Biyth; Professor ‘Anthony Flew, Professor of Philosophy, made useful suggestions. about the last chapter. I am also grateful to Mr John Bartlett, ‘Coneultant Neurosurgeon at the Brook Hospital. Professor T. P. Hughes of the University of the West Indies has been helpful ‘about rockets and many other things besides. My secretary, Mrs Jean Collins, was a great help in times of trouble, Mrs Nethercot of Vogue was kind to me about dressmaking. Mr Gerald Leach and also many of the editorial staff of Penguins have exercised their accustomed patience and helpfulness. ‘Among the dead, [ owe a great deal to Dif Mark Pryor - lately ‘of Trinity College, Cambridge ~ especially for discussions about ‘biomechanics which extended over a period of nearly thirty years, Lastly, for reasons which must surely be obvious, 1 owe a humble oblation to Herodotus, once a citizen of Halicarnassus. Acknowledgements We acknowledge with gratitude permission to quote from various authors. For Douglas English’s poem, Punch Publications Ltd; for ‘quotations from Weston Martyr's The Southsearan, Messts. William ‘Blackwood Ltd; for the quotation from Rudyard Kipling’s The Ship that Found Herself, Messrs. A. P. Watt & Son and the execttors of the lite Mrs Bambridge and the Macmillan Co. of London and Basingstoke ‘Also to Mr H. L. Cox for the quotation from his book The Design of ‘Structures of Least Weight. The quotations from the New English Bible {Second Edition © 1970) are by kind permission of the Gxford and ‘Cambridge University Presses. ‘We are also most grateful to all those named in the List of Plates who nave so kindly provided illustrations and given permission toreproduce them. ‘We have received a great deal of help from many people and organi- ‘zations with regard to both quotations and illustrations. If ve have, in ‘any instance, failed to make proper acknowiedgement, we offer our apologies, Chapter? The structures In ourlives oF how t0 communicate with engineers As men journeyed in the eas, they came upon a plata ‘n the land of Shinar and settled there. They said 10 ‘one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake ‘them hard’; they used bricks for stones and bitumen {for mortar." Come," they sald,‘ let ws build ourselves 4 city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and ‘make a name for ourselves; or we shall be dispersed all over the earth." Then the Lord came down to see the city and tower which mortal men had built, and he said, “Here they are, one people with a single language, and now they have started 10 do this; Ihenceformard nothing they have a mind to do will be beyond their reack, Come, let us go down there and confuse their speech, so that they wil not understand what they say tone another." So the Lord dispersed them from there allover the earth, and they left off building the ety. That is why it's called Babel (that fs, Babylon), because the Lord there made a babble ofthe language ofall the worl. Genesis 112-9 (New English Bible) AA structure has been defined as ‘any assemblage of materials “which is intended to sustain loads’, and the study of structures is ‘one of the traditional branches of science. Ifan engineering struc- ture breaks, people are likely to get killed, and so engineers do ‘well to investigate the behaviour of structures with circumspec- tion. But, unfortunately, when they come to tell other people about their subject, something goes badly wrong, for they talk in a strange language, and some of us are left with the conviction that the study of structures and the way in which they carry loads is incomprehensible, irrelevant and very boring indeed. Yet structures are involved in our lives in so many ways that we ‘cannot really afford to ignore them: after all, every plant and animal and nearly all of the works of man have to sustain greater 18 Structures ‘or less mechanical forces without breaking, and so practically ‘everything is a structure of one kind or another. When we talk about structures we shall have to ask, not only why buildings and bridges fall down and why machinery and aeroplanes sometimes break, but also how worms came to be the shape they are and why a bat can fy into a rose-bush without tearing its wings. How 40. ‘our tendons work? Why do we get ‘lumbago’? How were ptero-

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