For bridges, deep-sea platforms, and marine wind turbines, engineers have to build secure foundations able to withstand extremely heavy loads. Just how do they do this? One technique — driven Keep reading
Tag: infrastructure
The Art of French Drains
Civil engineers face a constant challenge trying to protect their structures from water — both above and below the ground. Subsurface water can build up enough pressure to lift and Keep reading
Engineering the City of Venice
In 452, Roman refugees established what became the city of Venice across a series of low-lying marshy islands in a lagoon. With no solid ground available, Venice has needed clever Keep reading
Fish Ladders Keep Species Swimming
Dams often use fish ladders to help migratory species make their way upstream without interruption. In this video, Grady from Practical Engineering discusses some of the considerations that go into Keep reading
Helping Fish Bypass Hydro Power Dams
Many dams in the U.S. were built at a time when their ecological impact was not a major concern. But, thanks to ongoing efforts to study affected species and upgrade Keep reading
How Spillway Gates Work
Dams and reservoirs need a way to control their water level, and for many, that’s managed using spillway gates. In this video, Grady from Practical Engineering introduces several types of Keep reading
When Reservoirs Run Dry
With the ongoing megadrought in the U.S. Southwest, more and more reservoirs are reaching historic low water levels. So it’s worth asking: what happens when a reservoir runs dry? And Keep reading
How Canal Locks Work
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
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
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