For thousands of years, boats have been a critical component of trade, efficiently enabling transport of goods over large distances. But water’s self-leveling creates challenges when moving up and downstream Keep reading
Tag: civil engineering
The Engineering of Culverts
Manmade infrastructure often interferes with natural waterways, which is one reason civil engineers turn to culverts, those pipes and concrete tunnels you often see beneath roadways. As simple as they Keep reading
Michigan Dam Failure
Last week Michigan’s Edenville Dam failed, triggering catastrophic flooding. While the exact causes of dam’s failure are not yet clear, this video of the collapse provides some interesting hints. As Keep reading
Holding Pipes in Place
Newton’s 3rd law states that any action has an equal and opposite reaction. Often engineers use this to our advantage; the thrust from expelling propellants is what lifts our rockets Keep reading
How Spillways Work
Human infrastructure like dams have the challenge of standing up to whatever nature can throw at them. It’s expensive, if not outright impossible, to build to every single contingency, so Keep reading
Hydraulic Jumps
Chances are that you’ve seen plenty of hydraulic jumps in your life, whether they were in your kitchen sink, the whitewater of a river, or at the bottom of a Keep reading
Dam Failure
In a recent video, Practical Engineering tackles an important and often-overlooked challenge in civil engineering: dam failure. At its simplest, a levee or dam is a wall built to hold Keep reading
Recreating Hurricanes
Hurricane-related winds and storm surge cause massive damage every year. Understanding and being able to predict the impact of these storms on coastal structures can help save lives and properties. Keep reading