XVIII. A table for facilitating the computations relative to suspension bridges

doi:10.1098/rstl.1831.0019

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Then I shall describe briefly Telford's work on the design of the Menai Bridge. Next, I shall discuss in detail Gilbert's three papers on suspension bridges and catenaries: those of 1821 and 1826, already mentioned, and a later one in Philosophical Transactions of 1831 [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An amateur's contribution to the design of Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge: a commentary on Gilbert (1826) ‘On the mathematical theory of suspension bridges’

Calladine

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Davies Gilbert's work on the catenary is notable on two counts. First, it influenced Thomas Telford in formulating his final design for the Menai Strait suspension bridge (1826); and second, it established for the first time the form of the ‘catenary of equal strength’. The classical catenary is a uniform flexible chain or cable hanging freely under gravity between supports. The ‘catenary of equal strength’ is the form of a cable whose cross-sectional area is made proportional to the tension at each point, so that the tensile stress is uniform throughout. In this paper I provide a sketch of the lives and achievements of Gilbert and Telford, and of their interaction over the Menai Bridge. There follows a commentary on Gilbert's 1826 paper, and on his two related publications; and a brief sketch of the earlier history of the catenary. I then describe the development of the suspension bridge up to the present time. Finally, I discuss relations between mathematical analysts and practical engineers. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An amateur's contribution to the design of Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge: a commentary on Gilbert (1826) ‘On the mathematical theory of suspension bridges’

Calladine

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

XVIII. A table for facilitating the computations relative to suspension bridges

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

An amateur's contribution to the design of Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge: a commentary on Gilbert (1826) ‘On the mathematical theory of suspension bridges’

An amateur's contribution to the design of Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge: a commentary on Gilbert (1826) ‘On the mathematical theory of suspension bridges’

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About