Abstract
WE gather from the preface that this little book is intended to be of assistance to students preparing for the examinations of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the B.Sc. (Engineering) of our universities, or other similar examinations. The text is arranged in the form of “question and answer,” and includes references to some of the more important dams constructed in different parts of the world. Students who are pursuing systematic courses in the principles of engineering will find a good many statements open to criticism. Thus, at the foot of p. i, we read: “In a low dam BC may be taken as being equal to AB.” ABC is the pressure diagram, and surely this statement regarding BC is not independent of the scale of pressure employed. Again, on p. 1: “The centre of pressure passes through the centre of gravity of this triangle”; and on p. 9: “The centre of pressure acting at a point H/3 above base.” On p. 3, rbH2 should read rbH2, and there are several other misprints. On p. 4 the reader is told that the weight of the wall will act through the centre of gravity of the section, but receives no directions as to how to find this point, although space is wasted on p. 25 in answering the questions how to find the centre of gravity of a triangle and parallelogram. We hope that questions such as No. 7, p. 15, do not occur often in professional or university examinations: “What are the suggestions made by Moles-worth relative to the thickness of high and low masonry dams?” On p. 16 we read seme curi-o.us statements, and quote a typical one: “g = specific gravity of the masonry = for light masonry 130 Ibs. per square foot = 2.08.” It is not possible in the limits of a short notice to deal with every point which might be criticised, but probably enough has been said to justify the conclusion that it would be well to give the book a thorough revision.
Studies in the Construction of Dams: Earthen and Masonry. Arranged on the Principle of Question and Answer for Engineering Students and Others.
Prof.
E. R.
Matthews
By. Pp. v + 43. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1919.) Price 4s. 6d. net.
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Studies in the Construction of Dams: Earthen and Masonry Arranged on the Principle of Question and Answer for Engineering Students and Others . Nature 104, 434 (1920). https://doi.org/10.1038/104434a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/104434a0