Further Problems in the Theory and Design of Structures: An Advanced Text-Book for the Use of Students, Draughtmen, and Engineers Engaged in Constructional Work

"A Text-Book for the Use of Students, Draughtsmen, and Engineers Engaged in Constructional Work," is the title page description of the first of these two volumes, which is a well written and well developed theoretical treatise giving considerably more space to the theory of stresses and to the elementary and fundamental consideration of the subject of beams and flexure than is the case with the familiar American text-books. Although many of the subjects have been developed mathematically, graphical constructions have been used to a great extent, with the result that many of the formulae, especially those relating to deflections and fixed and continuous beams, are very simply and clearly deduced. The first three chapters are devoted to principals of stresses and strains; forces, areas and moments. Graphical methods for the determination of moments of inertia and their adaptation to any section are very clearly presented and proved. Chapter Four deals with riveted joints and connections and gives a table of the British standard beam connections. A discussion of the methods of failure of riveted joints is also given. Chapters Five to ten treat the entire subject of beams for all conditions of supports and all cases of loading. Many practical examples applying to various formulae and constructions serve admirably to illustrate the theory. The chapter on framed structures explains three methods of determining stresses and gives stress diagrams for the more common types of bridge and roof trusses. The succeeding chapters treat briefly of the basic principles and theories for the design of columns and struts; suspension bridges and arches; masonry structures, such as dams, retaining walls, chimneys and arches; reinforced concrete. The chapter on the latter subject is little more than a description giving general ideas of the theories involved and some of the better known methods of construction used. The portions of the book devoted to structural design and the illustrations of girder and truss bridges and steel skeleton buildings serve very well to show the great difference between English and American practice in both design and shop work. One wishes that a more complete analysis of various details had been given so that the reasons for some of this difference might be made clear. * * * The adaptability of influence lines over the older and more common methods for calculating stresses is clearly shown and examples for various conditions of loading are given. The chapters illustrating the application of influence lines to fixed and continuous beams, arches and expansion bridges, together with those on stresses in arches, make this volume particularly useful and valuable to the designer of structures of any of these types of structures. A very clear presentation of deflections of framed structures is given, the displacement diagram for a truss with unsymmetrical loading being an unusual feature in connection with the treatment of this subject. The chapter on stresses in portals and wind bracing is a thorough discussion of the theory, but its application to practical problems is not so well presented as it is in several American texts. The chapter on secondary stresses is for the most part a collection of American publications.