Skip to main content

Soil Mechanics

Soil Compaction Criteria
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Soil Era: 1930s DateCreated: 1933 National Soil Dynamics Laboratory Auburn State: AL Zip: 36832 Country: USA Website: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/soil-compaction-criteria-25.aspx Creator: Nichols, Dr. Mark L.

Historically, Farm Tillage Tools Were Designed Without Scientific Knowledge Of How Tools Work The Soil. Thus, A Tool Designed To Operate In One Soil Pulled By A Mule Might Not Operate Satisfactorily In Another Soil Or When Pulled By A Tractor At Higher Speeds. Traction And Flotation Problems Appeared With The Introduction Of Tractors. The Importance Of Developing A Scientific Approach To The Study Of Tillage And Traction Became Apparent During The Transition From Animal To Mechanical Power.

YearAdded:
1990
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikicommons/Blonder1984 (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: Soil compaction Era_date_from:
Texas Commerce Bank Building
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Buildings Era: 1920-1929 DateCreated: 1929 JP Morgan Chase Building Houston State: TX Zip: 77002 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/project/texas-commerce-bank-building/ Creator: Simpson, William E.

The tower was designed to rest on a continuous reinforced concrete mat, 4 feet thick, with the base of the slab 24 feet below street level.

What makes the Texas Commerce Bank Building revolutionary in the civil engineering world is not so much the building itself, but its foundation.  Initial studies for the type of foundation to be used began in the fall of 1927.  William E. Simpson, the building's chief structural engineer, suggested using a mat foundation, something new for Houston's multistory buildings.

YearAdded:
1997
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Reagan Rothenberger Image Caption: The Texas Commerce Bank Building, now called the JP Morgan Chase Building, had a reinforced concrete mat foundation that was revolutionary at the time. Era_date_from: 1929
Subscribe to Soil Mechanics

Innovations

Texas Commerce Bank Building

The tower was designed to rest on a continuous reinforced concrete mat, 4 feet thick, with the base of the slab 24 feet below street level.

What makes the Texas Commerce Bank Building revolutionary in the civil engineering world is not so much the building itself, but its foundation. …

Read More
Soil Compaction Criteria

Historically, Farm Tillage Tools Were Designed Without Scientific Knowledge Of How Tools Work The Soil. Thus, A Tool Designed To Operate In One Soil Pulled By A Mule Might Not Operate Satisfactorily In Another Soil Or When Pulled By A Tractor At Higher Speeds. Traction And Flotation Problems…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.