State of the Art of Structural Engineering
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 128, Issue 8
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the developments in structural engineering that took place during the past century. This overview includes (1) some of the major structural accomplishments as selected by the writers, (2) the advances in mechanics as the basis of structural analysis, (3) the development of new materials, (4) new fields of research and practice, and (5) the changes in the way design projects are performed. In addition, the writers’ personal predictions for future developments during the 21st century are also presented. One of the main features affecting the evolution of structural engineering over the last part of the 20th century has been the advent and rapid development of digital computers as engineering tools. Computers can be used to perform complex and cumbersome computations and to enhance worldwide communications, both with great speed and reliability. This has already had an important effect on the way we design structures and educate civil engineers, but the impact on structural analysis and design as well as on construction planning and management is still in progress. We believe that this impact will be fully felt in the 21st century. Computers will liberate engineers from tedious and routine computations, allowing them to concentrate on more creative and important endeavors. They will facilitate the design of constructed facilities as complete systems rather than by considering each subsystem (such as structure and foundation) separately. They will lead finally to the needed integration of the design and construction processes.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Abramson, D. M. (2001). Skyscraper rivals, Princeton Architectural Press, New York.
ASCE. (2001). “ASCE designates Empire State Building as a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium.” ASCE News., 26(8), 1.
Berlow, L. H. (1998). The reference guide to famous landmarks of the world, Oryx Press, Phoenix.
Billington, D. P. (1983). The tower and the bridge, Basic Books, New York.
Billington, D. P. (1996). The innovators, Wiley, New York.
Cempel, C. (1991). Vibroacoustical condition monitoring, Ellis Horwood, Chichester, England.
Chen, W. F., ed. (1997). Handbook of structural engineering, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla.
Collins, A. R., ed. (1983). Structural engineering: Two centuries of British achievements, Institution of Structural Engineers Anniversary Publication, London.
Cross, H. (1952). Engineers and ivory towers, McGraw-Hill, New York.
ENR. (1999). “125 top projects,” ENR, 〈http://www.enr.com/new/125topproj2.asp〉.
Gaylord, E. H., and Gaylord, C. N., eds. (1968). Structural engineering handbook, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Gaylord, E. H., and Gaylord, C. N., eds. (1990). Structural engineering handbook, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York.
Girvin, H. F. (1948). A historical appraisal of mechanics, International Textbook Company, Scranton, Pa.
Goldberger, P. (1981). The skyscraper, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Grigg, N. S., Criswell, M. E., Fontane, D. G., and Siller, T. J. (2001). Civil engineering practice in the twenty-first century: Knowledge and skills for design and management, ASCE, New York.
Housner, G. W.et al. (1997). “Structural control: Past, present, and future,” special issue, J. Eng. Mech., 123(9), 897–971.
Husband, J., and Harby, W. (1947). Structural engineering, 5th Ed., Longman’s, New York.
Jackson, D. C., ed. (1997). Dams, studies in the history of civil engineering, Vol. 4, Ashgate Vriorium, Brookfield, Mass.
Kirkham, J. E. (1914). Structural engineering, Myron C. Clark Publishing Company, Chicago.
Kirkham, J. E. (1933). Structural engineering, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Nakamura, T., ed. (1988). American high-rise buildings, Japan Architect Company, Tokyo.
Natke, H. G., and Cempel, C. (1997). Model-aided diagnosis of mechanical systems—fundamentals, detection, localization, and assessment, Springer, New York.
Parker, H. E., ed. in chief. (1931). Kidder-Parker architects’ and builders’ handbook, 18th Ed. (1st Ed. 1884), Wiley, New York.
Reinschmidt, K. F.(1991). “Integration of engineering design and construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 117(4), 756–772.
Roësset, J. M., and Yao, J. T. P.(1988). “Civil engineering needs in the 21st century,” J. Prof. Issues Eng., 114(3), 248–255.
Roësset, J. M., and Yao, J. T. P.(2000). “Roles of civil engineering faculty,” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 126(1), 8–15.
Sheiry, E. S. (1938). Elements of structural engineering, International Textbook Company, Scranton, Pa.
Smith, N. (1975). Man and water, Peter Davies, London.
Southworth, M., and Southworth, S. (1984). A.I.A. guide to Boston, Boston Society of Architects, Boston.
Stoller, E. (2000). The John Hancock Center, Princeton Architectural Press, New York.
Westerbrook, R. (1984). Structural engineering design in practice, Construction, New York.
Wong, F. S., Chou, K. C., and Yao, J. T. P. (1999). “Chapter 6: Civil engineering including earthquake engineering.” Practical applications of fuzzy technologies, H.-J. Zimmermann, ed., Kluwer Academic, Boston, 207–245.
Wong, F. S., and Yao, J. T. P.(2001). “Health monitoring and structural reliability as a value chain.” Comput.-Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng. 16, 71–78.
Yen, J., and Langari, R. (1999). Fuzzy logic, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Zadeh, L. A.(1965). “Fuzzy sets.” Information Control, 8, 338–353.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 128 • Issue 8 • August 2002
Pages: 965 - 975
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 25, 2001
Accepted: Apr 2, 2002
Published online: Jul 15, 2002
Published in print: Aug 2002
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.