Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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Reflections on the
Beginnings of Prestressed
Concrete in America
N of the founding of the Prestressed Concrete Institute.
ineteen seventy-nine will be the 25-year Silver Jubilee
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Part 1
Magnet's impact
on the advent of
prestressed concrete
Charles C. Zollman
Director of Engineering
Urban Engineers of Maryland, Inc.
22
The author traces the events that led to the
construction of the Walnut Lane Bridge—the first
major linear prestressed concrete structure in the
United States. In particular, he emphasizes the
significant role that Professor Gustave Magnel
played in introducing prestressed concrete to
North America.
24
tatives of Belgian business, enterprise
and industry. They were invited by the
Foundation to spend 1 to 3 months
studying American technology which
had developed substantially during the
war years.
Magnel's Influence
26
Fig. 3. General view of the interior of the structures' laboratory showing the test
frame with bridge decks in position for testing. The hydraulic console is shown in
the foreground.
x I i
Cable
J—
^L
A-A
^0^0^-fro
Fig. 4. Block beam used by Canadian Royal Engineers to carry British fuel lines at
Ghent crossing, Terneuzen Canal, in 1944.
indispensable bridge in only one day. vulnerable. Brigadier Carriere and Mag-
He made this commitment with solid nel became great friends, which was an
confidence. Long before he had gone additional incentive for Magnel's several
into hiding, the Germans had ordered trips to this hemisphere, especially his
him to cast concrete blocks, at their ex- visits to Canada.
pense, for their buildings. However, In 1954, Magnel graciously accepted
Magnel successfully delayed delivery of the opportunity to lecture at the Cana-
the blocks on one pretext or another. As dian Conference on Prestressed Con-
he described in his book, Prestressed crete in Toronto, Ontario. He was in-
Concrete 2 (see Fig. 4), "... and in 1944, strumental in spearheading the dramatic
the Canadian Royal Engineers used beginning of prestressed concrete in
similar beams for a bridge to carry pipe- Canada and the United States.
lines over the Terneuzen Canal; in this
case, the contractor had the beams in
stock."
Now, he simply shipped the blocks to
Introduction of
the site of the canal crossing, assem-
Prestressed Concrete
bling, post-tensioning and erecting a
bridge ready to carry the British fuel Meanwhile, I had managed to escape
lines, with remarkable speed. Europe in 1941 and come to the United
Magnel took great delight in telling this States where I worked on the East
particular story; he had deceived the Coast for various consulting and con-
enemy once more where they were most tracting firms. Primarily, I worked as a
28
designer and detailer of reinforced con-
crete structures.
Between 1944 and 1945, news bulle-
tins issued by the Belgian Consulate in
New York sometimes carried items
about Professor Magnel: first, that he
had disappeared, then, that he had es-
caped from the Germans and finally, that
he had been reinstated as Professor at
the University_of Ghent. .
Learning of Magnel's safety during the
summer of 1945, I wrote a congratula-
tory letter to him. In his handwritten reply,
Professor Magnel wrote (among other
things), °... and I even built and tested
a 20 meter (about 66 ft) span pre-
stressed beam,"—which he considered
a great achievement in its time. Shortly
afterward, Magnel announced that he
would visit the United States as an "Ad-
vanced Fellow" of the Belgian-American
Educational Foundation in spring 1946.
promptly wrote a letter to Professor
Magnel suggesting universities he
should visit, consulting engineers to
meet, and construction sites to be in-
spected. I also made arrangements for
Magnel to lecture on prestressed con- Fig. 5. Professor Magnet, the
crete, a subject almost unknown in the lecturer, on his American tour.
United States at that time. Indeed, the
only information on prestressed concrete
published in an American textbook was Everything went smoothly during
almost an afterthought. Professor Clar- Magnel's first trip to the United States.
ence W. Dunham's book, The Theory Because of his easy and outgoing man-
and Practice of Reinforced Concrete3 ner and his willingness to listen, he was
included a chapter titled "Practical De- well received everywhere and accom-
tails and Miscellaneous Data." (This plished what he came for, namely the
book was considered the most ad- study of American developments in edu-
vanced and popular treatise on concrete cation, engineering and construction
design available at the time.) which had grown enormously during the
Magnel finally arrived in New York war years.
City in April 1946. He was greeted by his Invariably, Magnel would conclude a
former secretary (who had saved his life meeting by saying: "You are so kind to
during the Nazi occupation and later fled tell me what you have done, may I then
to the United States) and me. What an tell you what I have done? I have de-
emotional reunion this was: the old pro- veloped prestressed concrete ..." and
fessor and the young engineer who off he went! Fig. 5 shows Professor
would be his guide in the New World. So Magnel addressing one such meeting.
much had happened since my gradua- Ammann, the engineer who con-
tion from the University of Ghent in ceived, designed and who was respon-
1939, the last time we met. sible for the construction of the George
[cL
In addition, the nomenclature had to
be modified to American standards. All
the examples worked out in the metric
system were recomputed to the inch/
pound system. The rewards of a job well
done were immeasurable if not monetar-
ily so. However, the disappointment was
painful when American publishers such
as McGraw-Hill, Inc. and John Wiley &
Sons turned the book down because
they could not as yet see a market for
the product.
Concrete Publications Limited of Lon-
don, however, grabbed the manuscript,
retranslated it from "American-English"
to "British-English," reworked the
Fig. 7. Professor Magnel's explanation
nomenclature to conform to British prac-
of the principle of prestressing.
tice and published a first edition of 6000
copies in 1948 2 (see Fig. 8).
The book promptly sold out. Eight
hours the Professor proceeded to teach
me the fundamentals of the design and
analysis of prestressed concrete.
I became so captivated with the clarity
and simplicity of Magnel's explanation
that I requested permission to translate
the manuscript into English for possible
PRESTRESSED
publication in an American technical CONCRETE
journal. Permission was granted. BY
^2^^ ^^^^
The original manuscript was now suf-
ficiently developed to merit publication
as a book: the English version of the
French Le Beton Precontraint.
LONDON
Indeed, it was a labor of love. For CONCRETE PUBLICATIONS LIMITED
more than a year, the midnight oil 14 DARTMOUTH STREET, WESTMINSTER, S.W..
` I ^Z-.3) ` Irk
h /y(^^'
^z_1, i tv
thousand copies of the second revised had on the prestressed concrete indus-
and expanded edition were published in try is indeed significant.
1950 and a third further expanded edi- The basic principles, charts, and
tion was published in early 1954. nomographs generated the necessary
In view of the book's unexpected suc- confidence in the design of the new ma-
cess, McGraw-Hill of New York pur- terial and served as the basis for pre-
chased the reprint rights of the third edi- stressed concrete publications and en-
tion, late in 1954. gineering practice for many years there-
I am convinced that most copies of the after.
early editions made their way into the Fig. 9 shows a portion of an original
United States and Canada, the only calculation sheet in Magnel's own
major English speaking countries. (Until handwriting.
1955, when T. Y. Lin published his book
on Design of Prestressed Concrete The Preload Corp.
Structures 6 , Magnel's book was the only During the forties, the Preload Corpo-
English text treating the subject.) ration was awarded a sub-contract from
During those early years Magnel's the Virginia Construction Company, Nor-
book was the practical tool to which en- folk, Virginia** to construct eight pre-
gineering students and practicing en- stressed concrete digestion tanks for
gineers referred to for the design and Philadelphia's North-East Sewerage
analysis of prestressed concrete struc- Disposal Plant.
tures. The impact this treatise (as well Preload Corporation thus was in a
as many of Magnel's other publications) strategic position to promote linear pre-
stressed concrete in Philadelphia. This
can be seen in the following extract from
Magnet was a prolific writer. He published about 200 techni-
cal articles and books between 1910 and 1955.
a June 5, 1948, letter to Charles C•
Chief Engineer of the John
• *The Virginia Construction Company is now called Basic Sunderland,
Construction Company, Inc. A. Roebling & Sons Company from E. R.
34
Schofield, Principal Assistant Engineer stressed concrete structures using the
in the Department of Public Works, Blaton-Magnel cable system and an-
.Bureau of Engineering, Surveying and chorages.
Zoning, Philadelphia: This was a logical assignment in view
of my relationship with Professor Magnel
"Since I saw you last April several
things have happened to our Walnut and my knowledge of European and
Lane Bridge. The Pre-Load Co. (sic) American design and construction prac-
who are building some digestion tanks tices.
for us requested permission to study It was in this capacity that I presented
the problem. Although I did not like the Magnel's plan in the early spring of
situation I could hardly refuse, my posi- 1948. I entered Ed Schofield's office,
tion being what it is. At the time I was stood in front of his desk, faced him, and
very enthusiastic about Mr. Coff's* slowly unrolled the large drawing Pro-
plan but did not like the probable erec-
fessor Magnel had developed showing a
tion difficulties..
"In studying the proposed Walnut plan, elevation, cross section and a ren-
Lane Bridge, the Preload Corporation dering of a proposed prestressed con-
went to Europe and hired Professor crete Walnut Lane Bridge.
Magnel. He proposed a prestressed As I stood there, silently holding up
girder bridge similar to those which the drawing, Schofield examined it in-
had been built in Europe. Part of that tensely (his eyeglasses on the tip of his
proposal was to make girders with an nose) and then pronounced the magic
'I' shaped cross section and with a words we all had hoped to hear: "Yes,
uniform depth of about 6 ft 6 in. (2 m).
that's what I want ?—let me have the
.. Please note that the intention is
drawing." He hurried off, drawing in
to cast the 'I' section girders at the site
and place them in position on the piers hand, but soon returned and said, "They
and abutments by launching. The gir- like it upstairs."
ders will be pulled together by trans- "Upstairs" meant the offices of the
verse wires placed at the top and bot- Philadelphia officials for the Bureau of
tom of the diaphragms [about 14 ft Engineering, Surveys and Zoning.
(4.3 m) apart]. The tops of adjacent 'I` These officials included Thomas
sections will touch each other on the Buckley, director; A. Zane Hoffman,
main span and the wearing surface will chief engineer; and Samuel Baxter, as-
be placed directly upon the tops of the
sistant engineer. Edward Schofield was
I's. On the approach spans every
other girder is omitted and the deck then the principal assistant engineer.
becomes a poured-in-place problem "They like it," was tantamount to a final
as are the cantilever sidewalk brackets approval but Schofield said, "Well, we
of the main span. need one more approval. Let's go."
.. There are several things I like Ed Thwaits (at the time, vice-president
about this solution, the first being the and sales manager for the Preload Cor-
economy of one set of molds or forms poration)`* had accompanied me and, to-
for all girders, another being the fact gether with Schofield, we set out for the
that enough bridges have been and
office of Roy Larson, architect and
are being built in Europe to have es-
tablished precedents for the basic de-
sign and method of prestressing and
erection." *L. Coff, a consulting engineer in New York, had developed,
as consultant to John A. Roebling & Sons Company, a pre-
stressed concrete box girder of variable depth for a Walnut
Some months before this letter had Lane Bridge using cables made up of galvanized strands
been written, I had joined the Preload provided with sockets and swage terminal for anchorages,
and bridge saddles over transverse diaphragms, similar to
Corporation as Design Engineer and the cables used in suspension bridges.
was assigned to the task of promoting, **Ed Thwaits is now 85 years old and fives quietly in Denver,
developing and designing linear pre- Colorado.
36
(^ 2 0 ^^^ ^o /o, oao
C\ N
go
ti
L" y!
LJ Li
Fig. 10. Portions of Magnet's original rough sketches of the proposed testing
arrangement for a 160-ft (49 m) girder used in the main span of the Walnut Lane
Bridge. For contrast refer to the actual drawings (see Fig. 15).
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SECTION B -B
SECTION A-A
Fig. 11. Original contract drawings (with some detail simplification) of Walnut Lane Bridge
showing the plan, various elevations and typical cross sections of the structure. DRAWING 'B"
IMPORTANT FIRST—Look for bids to be asked
soon for a prestressed concrete bridge, first in the Fig. 12. "The Philadelphia Inquirer's"
U. S. Look also for an article on it in a near-future announcement of the bid opening for
issue of this journal. Philadelphia's department
of public works has been quietly designing the the Walnut Lane Bridge, December 1,
structure these past several months. Of deck- 1948. Bids were taken on January 19,
girder type, it will have a center span of 160 ft.,
end spans of 74 ft. The largest of the girders will 1949. The contract was awarded in the
weigh 150 tons. Precast, they will be lifted into spring of 1949.
place 50 ft. above a drive in Fairmount Park.
Fig. 13. Over 300 engineers from 17 states and 5 countries witnessed the formal
testing to destruction of an identical girder used in the main span of the bridge.
40
vided by 0.276-in. (7 mm) diameter
wires but was limited to pulling 0.196-in.
(5 mm) diameter wire.
It was not possible to accommodate
the large number of 0.196-in. (5 mm)
wires required in 13 girders. Therefore,
with the alternate design a 14-girder
main span was essential. This caused
an esthetic problem in aligning girders
when the approach spans were taken
into consideration.
A contract was finally awarded in the
Spring of 1949 to the Henry W. Horst
Company for the construction of the orig-
inal design in the amount of $698,383;
the second lowest bid was $705,-
706.50. 11 The Preload Corporation was
awarded the sub-contract to fabricate
the girders.
i I
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i as
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7. P/c- /RO. /BILLETS 7-PIC/ IROM 81LLE
7,400 "C.cl/ 7.400 0 Eoch
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Fig. 15. Elevation and section of typical jacking frame (for contrast see Fig. 10).
42
Fig. 16a. General testing arrangement.
Figs. 17. Although the girder did not fail at the designated testing load `informal"
testing continued the following day (ironically, in clear sunny weather). The girder
finally cracked at the superimposed load of more than 1.2 million lbs.
44
Fig. 18a. Closeup of failure at midspan.
46
Fig. 20. The completed Walnut Lane Bridge and the men responsible for its
construction; (from left to right) Prof. Magnel, Samuel Baxter (ASCE) and Charles
Zollman (author of this paper).
been extremely concerned about the However, shortly afterward, Dean did
concrete strength and slump specif- proceed with the design of the 17,500 ft
ications asked Professor Magnel, "Is it ( 5300 m) long prestressed concrete
true that you requested zero slump?" Sunshine Skyway Trestle between
The Professor answered with a smile, "I Bradenton and St. Petersburg, Florida.
am not talking about zero slump, I am In 1957, he received ASCE's distin-
talking about minus' slump." But then, guished Ernest E. Howard Award for
that is another story. "achievements in the design and con-
And so is the one about William A. struction of prestressed concrete."
Dean, one of the men instrumental in The ball was beginning to roll—soon
developing prestressed concrete, espe- to pickup momentum in Florida, the
cially in Florida. In 1949, I met Bill Dean, Midwest, and on the West Coast.
then bridge engineer for the State of The second part of this article will re-
Florida. He greeted me by saying, "I veal how the ball was made to roll mak-
have gone sour on prestressed con- ing the prestressed concrete industry a
crete." giant in American construction.
References
1. T. Y. Lin Symposium on Prestressed 6. Lin, T. Y., Design of Prestressed Con-
Concrete: Past, Present, Future, PCI crete Structures, John Wiley & Sons,
JOURNAL, V. 21, No. 5, Sept.-Oct. 1976, Inc., New York, 1955.
224 pp. 7. Schofield, E. R., "First Prestressed
2. Magnel, Gustave, Prestressed Concrete, Bridge in the U.S.," Engineering News
Concrete Publications, Ltd., London, First Record, December 30, 1948.
Edition, 1948, p. 113 and McGraw-Hill 8. "In Memoriam—Gustave Magnel,"
Book Co., Inc., New York, Third Edition, Memorial Assembly in the Rotunda,
1954, p. 9 and 136. Ghent University, October 13, 1956.
3. Dunham, Clarence W., The Theory and 9. Bowman, Waldo, "Full-Size Prestressed
Practice of Reinforced Concrete, Girder Tested," Engineering News Rec-
McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, 1939, ord, November 3, 1949.
Chapter 16, "Practical Details and Mis- 10. "Testing Prestressed Concrete Girder,"
cellaneous Data." Concrete Magazine, V. 57, No. 12, De-
4. Magnel, Gustave, "The Principles of Pre- cember 1949.
stressed Concrete," The Journal of the 11. Schofield, E. R., "Construction Starts on
Engineering Institute of Canada, March Prestressed Concrete Bridge in Philadel-
1947. phia," Civil Engineering, July, 1949.
5. Magnel, Gustave, "The Principles of Pre- 12. Weart, William G., "5,000 Pounds Per
stressed Concrete," The Military En- Foot Pressure Fails to Snap New Type
gineer, July-August, 1954. Girder," The New York Times, October
Note: Whereas Reference 4 refers to 26, 1949.
"basic principles," Reference 5 applies to 13. Schofield, E. R., "Prestressed Concrete
"advanced principles" in connection with Used for Boldly Designed Structures in
continuity, ultimate design, building Europe," Civil Engineering, September
codes, structural steel and so forth. 1949.
48