Wind Wizard: Alan G. Davenport and the Art of Wind Engineering
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.42 (862 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0691151539 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-01-18 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Siobhan Roberts is a freelance science journalist who first wrote about Davenport and wind engineering for the New York Times. She is the author of King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxeter, The Man Who Saved Geometry.
Well written biography of a great engineer. John D. Mozer I had the pleasure of knowing Alan Davenport, so perhaps my rating of this book may be influenced by knowing him. However, everything that Siobhan Roberts wrote about him is absolutely correct. He was a brilliant engineer and researcher, yet he was not egotistical as some brilliant people become. His stongest aptitude was being able to analyze and explain the complex subject of turbulent wind effects on structures in such a way that design engineers can understand. Roberts did a wonderf. "a good read covering a fascinating aspect of engineering" according to Peter Jensen. I stumbled across Wind Wizard on the new titles section at the library and really enjoyed it; I would call this a popular science biography, with the caveat that the "popular science" part is more interesting and less dumbed down than normal. The notes and references are nicely done, as are the frequent photos and illustrations. I am happy with my choice to borrow this book from the library rather than acquire a copy for myself, but I think it would make an excellent and well received g. "Disappointed after reading good review" according to D. Barry. I read a review in New Scientist that prompted me to get this book. Expected a more informative explanation of the effects of wind on structures and the design issues related to them. Gave up 2/Disappointed after reading good review I read a review in New Scientist that prompted me to get this book. Expected a more informative explanation of the effects of wind on structures and the design issues related to them. Gave up 2/3 way through. Diagrams are poorly presented with, for me at least, insufficient explanation to make them informative. As a mix of biography and technical information I found it failed on both counts.. way through. Diagrams are poorly presented with, for me at least, insufficient explanation to make them informative. As a mix of biography and technical information I found it failed on both counts.
Over the years, Davenport's revolutionary lab investigated and improved the wind-worthiness of the world's greatest structures, including the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Tower, Shanghai's World Financial Center, the CN Tower, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, the Sunshine Skyway, and the proposed crossing for the Strait of Messina, linking Sicily with mainland Italy. His resulting wind studies on New York's World Trade Center advanced the art and science of wind engineering with one pioneering innovation after another. In 1964, Davenport received a confidential telephone call from two engineers requesting tests on a pair of towers that promised to be the tallest in the world. Establishing the first dedicated "boundary layer" wind tunnel laboratory for civil engineering structures, Davenport enabled the study of the atmospheric region from the earth's surface to three thousand feet, where the air churns with turbulent eddies, the average wind speed increasing with height. The boundary layer wind tunnel mimics these windy marbled striations in order to test models of buildings and bridges that inevitably face the wind when built. Chronicling Davenport's innovations by analyzing select projects, this popular-science book gives an illuminating behind-the-scenes view into the practice of wind engineering, and insight into Davenport's steadfast belief that there is nei
Siobhan Roberts' style has literary merit. Roberts has written a largely equation free book in which technical subtleties such as aeroelasticity and Davenport's statistical description of turbulent buffeting are set out clearly, engagingly and accurately. Journalist Roberts delves into Davenport's portfolio of superlatives, which includes the world's tallest bridge, France's Millau Viaduct."--Marissa Fessenden, Scientific American"Richly drawn. I would not be surprised if she were to try to write novels in the future. Alan G. With climate change making violent storms like Sandy more common, the story of the wind wizard has never been more relevant."--Ben Crystall, New Scientist"Roberts' Wind Wizard is a tenaciously gripping and extraordinarily well-told tale of one of the great figures in structural engineering."--Nick Smith, Engineering & Technology"Roberts has done a very good job demonstrating the importance of Davenport's more sophi