The understanding of the physical
a bridge to span the Golden Horn.
17th century came in the 18th century
laws that underpin structural engi-
Though dismissed at the time, the
when Leonhard Euler pioneered much
neering in the Western world dates
design has since been judged to be
of the mathematics and many of the
back to the 3rd century BC, when
both feasible and structurally valid.
methods which allow structural engi-
Archimedes published his work on the
The foundations of modern structural
neers to model and analyze struc-
Equilibrium of Planes in two volumes,
engineering were laid in the 17th
tures. Specifically, he developed the
in which he sets out the Law of the
century by Galileo Galilei, Robert
Euler-Bernoulli beam equation with
Lever, stating:
Hooke and Isaac Newton with the
Daniel Bernoulli (1700­1782) circa
"Equal weights at equal distances are
publication of three great scientific
1750 - the fundamental theory under-
in equilibrium, and equal weights at
works. In 1638 Galileo published
lying most structural engineering
unequal distances are not in equilib-
Dialogues Relating to Two New
design.
rium but incline towards the weight
Sciences, outlining the sciences of the
Daniel Bernoulli, with Johann (Jean)
which is at the greater distance.
"
strength of materials and the motion of
Bernoulli (1667­1748), is also cred-
Archimedes used the principles
objects (essentially defining gravity as
ited with formulating the theory of
derived to calculate the areas and
a force giving rise to a constant accel-
virtual work, providing a tool using
centers of gravity of various geometric
eration). It was the first establishment
equilibrium of forces and compatibility
f i g u r e s
i n c l u d i n g
t r i a n g l e s ,
of a scientific approach to structural
of geometry to solve structural prob-
Paraboloids, and hemispheres.[6]
engineering, including the first
lems. In 1717 Jean Bernoulli wrote to
Archimedes' work on this and his work
attempts to develop a theory for
Pierre Varignon explaining the princi-
on calculus and geometry, together
beams. This is also regarded as the
ple of virtual work, while in 1726 Daniel
with Euclidean geometry, underpin
beginning of structural analysis, the
Bernoulli wrote of the "composition of
much of the mathematics and under-
mathematical representation and
forces".
standing of structures in modern struc-
design of building structures.
In 1757 Leonhard Euler went on to
tural engineering.
This was followed in 1676 by Robert
derive the Euler buckling formula,
The ancient Romans made great
Hooke's first statement of Hooke's
greatly advancing the ability of engi-
bounds in structural engineering,
Law, providing a scientific under-
neers to design compression
pioneering large structures in
standing of elasticity of materials and
elements.
masonry and concrete, many of which
their behavior under load.
MODERN DEVELOPMENT
are still standing today. They include
Eleven years later, in 1687, Sir Isaac
Throughout the late 19th and early
aqueducts, thermae, columns, light-
Newton published Philosophiae
20th centuries, materials science and
h o u s e s , d e f e n s i v e w a l l s a n d
Naturalis Principia Mathematica,
structural analysis underwent devel-
harbours. Their methods are recorded
setting out his Laws of Motion, provid-
opment at a tremendous pace.Though
by Vitruvius in his De Architectura writ-
ing for the first time an understanding
elasticity was understood in theory
ten in 25 BC, a manual of civil and
of the fundamental laws governing
well before the 19th century, it was not
structural engineering with extensive
structures.[10]
until 1821 that Claude-Louis Navier
sections on materials and machines
Also in the 17th century, Sir Isaac
formulated the general theory of elas-
used in construction. One reason for
Newton and Gottfried Leibniz both
ticity in a mathematically usable form.
their success is their accurate survey-
i n d e p e n d e n t l y
d e v e l o p e d
t h e
In his leçons of 1826 he explored a
ing techniques based on the dioptra,
Fundamental theorem of calculus,
great range of different structural
groma and chorobates.
providing one of the most important
theory, and was the first to highlight
Centuries later, in the 15th and 16th
mathematical tools in engineering.
that the role of a structural engineer is
centuries and despite lacking beam
Further advances in the mathematics
not to understand the final, failed state
theory and calculus, Leonardo da
needed to allow structural engineers
of a structure, but to prevent that fail-
Vinci produced many engineering
to apply the understanding of struc-
ure in the first place. In 1826 he also
designs based on scientific observa-
tures gained through the work of
established the elastic modulus as a
tions and rigour, including a design for
Galileo, Hooke and Newton during the
property of materials independent of
21
Issue 71 December 2013
2013 71

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