- Investigations
- Engineering
- Engineering
Engineering
Architectural engineering has been studied both in systems and structures, with detailed geometric studies and investigation into the development of finite element analysis.
Mechanical engineering has been studied through the history of engine design and detailed analysis of reciprocating elements.
Shown is a study of complex vault conditions at Marina City. Their geometries were very complex, springing from trapezoidal columns, and these findings were presented to the International Association of Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) conference in 2018.
Also shown is an early finite element analysis from 30 years ago, for a building designed at Bertrand Goldberg Associates. The drawing identifies the study points for the calculations done over several days on the University of Illinois mainframe computer.
A detailed analysis of reciprocating elements was undertaken in a study of automotive crankshafts, analyzing some fifty years of crankshaft design in the Lancia V4 motors was undertaken. 3-D models, balancing calculations were done to unpack the engineering assumptions made over fifty years of production. the results were presented at conference of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Models of historically important prototype engines were made as part of a study of evolution of early 20th c. engine design. Shown here are two previously unknown motors, a V8 from 1915 and a V12 from 1918.
A comprehensive look at the history of an Italian automotive manufacturer, Lancia, manufacturers of some of the world’s most progressive and well-engineered cars, was undertaken through examination of the papers of one of its leading engineers. The findings were published in a book, Lancia and De Virgilio, At the Center, which won several awards, including the Society of Automotive Historians’ Cugnot Award for the best book of the year. The findings have been widely presented both in the US, and abroad - in Italy, France, Belgium and Australia, and positively reviewed in the New York Times and in European press.
