Civil Engineering Photos

Photo Credit: Enrique Pasta

Description Credit: Nicole Paul

Seen here is an installed Triple Pendulum Bearing as designed and manufactured by Earthquake Protection Systems in Vallejo, CA for Acapulco City Hall in Guerrero, Mexico. The Triple Pendulum Bearing is a type of seismic isolation system that has curved sliding surfaces, which effectively act as three pendulums. These pendulums can be separately optimized for different level earthquakes – small, moderate and severe. The properties of each pendulum are based on the bearing geometry and typically chosen in order to dramatically reduce the peak accelerations and reduce shear forces acting on the seismically isolated structure and its contents during earthquakes. This allows for performance-based design, where the structure is not only designed not to collapse, but to be occupied and resume normal functionality soon after the earthquake takes place. Such design is most commonly used for hospitals, airports, LNG tanks, and other critical structures.

Photo Credit: Karl Jansen

This is Farris Windmill; it was built in the mid-1600s. Windmills like this one were common and were used to complete tasks such as grinding corn. A windmill is a machine that converts energy from the wind into usable mechanical power. The sails on the windmill catch the wind force as the wind blows, causing a rotation. That rotation is transferred down a shaft where it is used. Windmills are similar to Wind Turbines, which generate electricity rather than mechanical power.

Photo Credit: Jessie Benaglio

In Cinque Terre, Italy, five little towns on the north west coast, has rocks laid in a pattern on the roofs. The rocks help hold the shingles on due from the strong winds that come from the Mediterranean Sea and the winds from the mountains.

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

Seen above is a perfect example of building a structure right up to the property line. This close quarter construction is common in urban areas and produces challenges for engineers and construction crews. As seen here, special consideration must be taken not to disturb the foundation of the adjacent building to the construction site. In order to ensure this a worker carefully directs the operator of the excavator using hand signals to be sure the foundation is not damaged by an impact from the bucket.

Photo Credit: Jessie Benaglio

Pictured above is an elevator shaft being build in Cinque Terre, Italy, which consists of five little towns on the North West coast on the Mediterranean. This coastal town is full of hills and steps and does not have any regulations for those that are handicapped. This elevator will help allow those with disabilities to access more of the towns.

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

Seen above is a construction worker putting the finishing touches on the Exterior Insulating Finish System (EIFS) of a building. EIFS are composed of insulation panels that are connected to the building via mechanical fasteners or adhesive. These panels are then covered with synthetic coatings to provide both a visually appealing and weather proof finish. Many times EIFS is confused with stucco, however, technically they are different materials.

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

What is this random wall doing in a parking lot of job trailers? It is a mock up of the future building skin that will be built in this area. This allows the architect to see what the building will look like in the area before the entire building is completed. It also allows the finish contractor to gain valuable experience in what is to be expected from the architect in terms of finish detail quality.

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

Seen here is an elevator storage building. It was once used to store building materials, such as gravel, to ensure proper moisture content for making concrete was maintained in any weather conditions. On the right side of the building the conveyor belt used to lift the material into the silos can be seen quite clearly. Conveyer handling of materials is quite efficient and is still used today to load gravel, and other granular material like corn, into silos for storage.

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

Pictured here is a slate roof on a church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Slate roofs are considered by many to be the foremost type of roof that a building can have. The reason is their extremely long lifetime, typically lasting numerous decades and sometimes even over a century! Many times the failure of a slate roof is actually due to corrosion of the nails that hold the slate pieces in place and not failure of the slate pieces themselves.