The History of the Theory of Structures (eBook)

Karl-Eugen Kurrer was born in Heilbronn, Germany, in 1952. After graduating from Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences with a general civil engineering degree in 1973, he worked as a structural timber engineer for Losberger GmbH in Heilbronn. He then returned to university to study civil engineering and physical engineering sciences at TU Berlin, the city's science and technology university. As a tutor in the Theory of Structures Department at TU Berlin between 1977 and 1981, one of Karl-Eugen Kurrer's most important teaching and learning experiences was grasping the basic principles of structural analysis from the historical point of view. The intention of his handwritten introductory lecture notes on the history of each method of structural analysis was to help students understand that theory of structures, too, is the outcome of a socio-historical everyday process in which they themselves play a part and, in the end, help to shape. Another goal was to create a deeper sense of the motivation for and enjoyment of the learning of structural analysis. It was crucial to overcome the formula-type acquisition of the subject matter by introducing a didactic approach to the fundamentals of theory of structures through their historical appreciation. By 1998 this had evolved into a plea for a historico-genetic approach to the teaching of theory of structures. His dissertation "Entwicklung der Gewölbetheorie vom 19. Jahrhundert bis zum heutigen Stand der Wissenschaft am Beispiel der Berechnung einer Bogenbrücke" (the development of vault theory from the 19th century to today using the example of structural calculations for an arch bridge) was completed in 1981. Since 1980, his many articles on the history of science and technology in general and construction history in particular have appeared in journals, newspapers, books and exhibition publications. Karl-Eugen Kurrer completed his PhD - on the internal kinematic and kinetic of tube vibratory mills (advisers: Eberhard Gock, Wolfgang Simonis, Gerd Brunk) - with the highest level of distinction, summa cum laude, at TU Berlin in 1986 and went on to carry out externally funded research on energy efficiency in industry. He contributed to the development of a new eccentric vibratory mill that uses 50% less energy than comparable models. After 1995 the design successfully established itself on the international machine market (US and EU patents). The head of the "Eccentric vibratory mill" team at Clausthal University of Technology, Prof. Dr. Eberhard Gock (1937-2016), received an innovation award ("Technologietransferpreis der Industrie- und Handelskammer Braunschweig") for this work in 1998. Summaries of the research results from Dr. Kurrer's work at the interface between mechanical process engineering, machine dynamics and raw materials engineering appeared in issues 124 and 282 of series 3 (process engineering) of the progress reports published by the VDI (Association of German Engineers), and also in numerous presentations and journal publications at home and abroad. Between 1989 and 1995, Dr. Kurrer was employed at the Department of Antenna Design of Telefunken Sendertechnik GmbH (head of department: Dr.-Ing. Peter Bruger) in Berlin as a developer of structural systems for large long-, medium- and short-wave antenna systems. He worked on the further development of Telefunken's own program suite for the calculation, dimensioning and design of cable networks for short-wave antennas according to third-order theory. He also contributed to the design of a rotating steel short-wave curtain antenna. For nearly 40 years, Karl-Eugen Kurrer has carried out research on the subject of construction history with a special emphasis on theory of structures. Since 1992, he has been involved in the conference series entitled "Between Mechanics and Architecture", which was established by Patricia Radelet-de Grave and Edoardo Benvenuto. Since 1996, Dr. Kurrer has been Chair of the VDI's Working Group o

Dr.-Ing. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Karl-Eugen Kurrer, geboren am 10.8.1952 in Heilbronn. Nach Realschule und Maurerlehre Studium des Allgemeinen Ingenieurbaus an der Staatsbauschule Stuttgart (heute Hochschule für Technik). Anschließend Bauingenieur im Ingenieurholzbau. Studium des Bauingenieurwesens und der Physikalischen Ingenieurwissenschaften an der TU Berlin; 1982 Diplomarbeit über die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Gewölbetheorie. Danach Promotion an der TU Berlin mit der Dissertation "Zur inneren Kinematik und Kinetik von Rohrschwingmühlen" (1986) und daselbst Fortsetzung der Forschungen zur rationellen Energieverwendung in der Industrie. Entwicklungsingenieur für Antennensysteme bei Telefunken Sendertechnik GmbH in Berlin (1989-1995). Ab Mitte der 1980er-Jahre Entwicklung des wissenschaftshistorisch akzentuierten Ansatzes der Bautechnikgeschichte für die Baustatik, der später zum Konzept einer Historischen Technikwissenschaft verallgemeinert wurde. Von 1993 bis 2010 Mitarbeit an dem von Edoardo Benvenuto (Genua) und Patricia Radelet-de Grave (Louvain-la-Neuve) begründeten Netzwerk "Between Mechanics and Architecture". Seit 1996 Leiter des VDI-Arbeitskreises "Technikgeschichte" in Berlin und Begründer einer Vortragsreihe am Deutschen Technikmuseum Berlin. Chefredakteur "Stahlbau" (seit 1996) und "Steel Construction - Design and Research" (seit 2008) bei Ernst & Sohn. Chairperson des International Scientific Committee des IIIrd International Congress on Construction History (2009) an der BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. Gründungsmitglied der deutschsprachigen Gesellschaft für Bautechnikgeschichte (2013). Für seine hervorragenden wissenschaftlichen Leistungen auf dem Gebiet der Bautechnikgeschichte wurde er am 18. Oktober 2017 von der BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg zum Dr.-Ing. E.h. promoviert. Kurrer veröffentlichte über 180 Zeitschriftenaufsätze und Buchbeiträge sowie hunderte Rezensionen und Zeitungsartikel. Im Jahr 2002 erschien erstmals seine "Geschichte der Baustatik", der 2008 die wesentlich erweiterte "The History of the Theory of Structures" folgte. In der Tradition legendärer Arbeiten zur Geschichte der Mechanik gelten diese "opera magna" heute weltweit als moderne Standardwerke des wissenschaftsgeschichtlichen Zweiges der Bautechnikgeschichte.

Foreword of the series editors
Foreword by Prof. Ekkehard Ramm
Preface to the second English edition
About this series
About the series editors
About the author
1 The tasks and aims of a historical study of the theory of structures
2 Learning from history: 12 introductory essays
3 The first fundamental engineering science disciplines: theory of structures and applied mechanics
4 From masonry arch to elastic arch
5 The history of earth pressure theory
6 The beginnings of a theory of structures
7 The discipline-formation period of theory of structures
8 From construction with iron to modern structural steelwork
9 Member analysis conquers the third dimension: the spatial framework
10 Reinforced concrete's influence on theory of structures
11 The consolidation period of theory of structures
12 The development and establishment of computational statics
13 Thirteen scientific controversies in mechanics and theory of structures
14 Perspectives for a historical theory of structures
15 Brief biographiesof 260 protagonists of theory of structures
Bibliography
Name index
Subject index
Vorwort der Reihenherausgeber
Zum Geleit von Prof. Ekkehard Ramm
Vorwort zur zweiten englischen Edition
Über die Reihe
Über die Reihenherausgeber
Über den Autor
1 Aufgaben und Ziele der Historiographie der Baustatik
2 Lernen aus der Geschichte: Zwölf Einführungsvorträge in die Baustatik
3 Die ersten technikwissenschaftlichen Grundlagendisziplinen: Baustatik und Technische Mechanik
4 Vom Gewölbe zum Bogen
5 Geschichte der Erddrucktheorie
6 Die Anfänge der Baustatik
7 Die Disziplinbildungsperiode der Baustatik
8 Vom Eisenbau zum modernen Stahlbau
9 Die Stabstatik erobert die dritte Dimension: Das Raumfachwerk
10 Der Einfluss des Stahlbetonbaus auf die Baustatik
11 Die Konsolidierungsperiode der Baustatik
12 Herausbildung und Etablierung der Computerstatik
13 Dreizehn wissenschaftliche Kontroversen in der Mechanik und Baustatik
14 Perspektiven der Historischen Baustatik
15 Kurzbiographien von 260 Protagonisten der Baustatik
Bibliographie
Personenregister
Sachregister

About this Edition

"[...] K.-E. Kurrer's book is a compreshensive treatise on the theories that are used for analysis and design of structures from the earliest days (Archimedes' lever principle) to the present (finite element method). Those who have read the first edition of the book will be surprised by the huge amount of history and knowledge which has been added in the second edition. One can still read the individual chapters in isolation without losing the broad view on the total. The book is well illustrated with pictures, graphs, historical drawings and sketches, which makes for entertaining reading. It contains a wealth of information and is therefore a source for historians, especially interested in the history of technology, but also for professional engineers and graduate students of engineering and art history. The book is a necessary element of libraries and engineering departments."
em. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Dr. E.h. Hans-Wolf Reinhardt, University of Stuttgart, Germany (RILEM's website: www.rilem.net, July 2018)


"(...) Der Rezensent empfiehlt vorliegendes Buch wärmstens - auch den Lesern in Polen.
Bauingenieure, Architekten und Umweltingenieure und Studierende der genannten Disziplinen
finden dort zahlreiche Anregungen zum Nachdenken."
Prof. dr hab. inz. Zbigniew Cywinski in "Inzynieria Morska i Geotechnika", 4/2018, S. 313:


About the First English edition 2008

"[...] Ultimately, this is an extraordinary book that should be in every engineering library and on the bookshelf of every structural engineer who aspires to make a difference in the design, development, and preservation of civil infrastructure."
Prof. Sashi K. Kunnath, University of California, Davis, USA (Journal of Structural Engineering, March 2009, pp. 330-331)

"[...] Kurrer's achievement in compiling this book is colossal, and I commend it to anyone interested in the subject. It will, for a long time, stand well along side the other classics of the field - Timoshenko's "History of Strength of Materials", and Eduardo Benvenuto's "Introduction to the History of Structural Mechanics". [...]"
Dr. Bill Addis, Buro Happold, London, UK (International Journal of Space Structures, Vol. 23, No. 3, July 2008, p. 194)

"[...] As you can tell from my enthusiasm, I recommend this highly original study, first as a pleasure to read and a thoughtful examination of new avenues to explain the development of human understanding, and also as an aid and inspiration for further research."
Prof. Dr. Tom F. Peters, Lehigh University, USA (Technology and Culture, July 2009, Vol. 50, pp. 669-674)

"[...] Kurrer's book is truly a masterpiece. In the 800-plus pages, one finds no end of new and interesting pieces of information that contribute to the history of the theory of structures. [...]"
Prof. Dr. Harry H. West, The Pennsylvania State University, USA (Journal of Architectural Engineering, Vol. 14, Issue 4, December 2008, p. 130)

"[...] Whenever you want to learn about the subject or just want to browse through history - this is the book! It is certainly a must for every historically interested engineer as well as for historians of science. "The Kurrer" will become the standard reference book and will stay in that position for many years to come."
Prof. Dr. Thomas Sonar, Institute of Computational Mathematics, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany (ZAMP The Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics, Vol. 60 (2009), p. 581)

"[...] German publisher Ernst & Sohn has brought to the English-speaking public this substantial monograph by Karl-Eugen Kurrer, which is a revised and considerably extended version of the highly successful 2002 German edition Geschichte der Baustatik. The additional content, especially the inclusion of more international developments, makes this book of truly worldwide significance."
Prof. Dr. Andreas Kahlow, Berlin, Germany (Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering History and Heritage, Vol. 164, February 20