Problems of Logical-mathematical Modeling in the Course of Cribwork Quay Design: Innovative Methods of Civil Engineering

In the article, the author analyzes the innovative methods, employed by the Russian hydraulic engineer Nikolai Mikhailovich Gersevanov in the course of the stability analysisperformed in respect of cribwork quays. The author addresses one of the little known works, written by this Russian architect of industrial buildings. The work in question covers the application of logic algebra formulas to the substantiation of the stability of foundations of quays and port structures; it is entitled “The Application of Mathematical Logic to the Analysis of Structures”. N.M. Gersevanov employs his method of logical-mathematical substantiation of stability of cribwork quays as an example in the second part of his research. The author also analyzes the features of construction of crib piers, the forces that they are exposed to, and any possible reasons for the destruction of cribwork quays. In this article, the problem of design of cribwork quays is tied to the problem of construction performed in the context of natural (hydrologic and tectonic) calamities, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides. City and port management amid natural calamities represents an innovative challenge to be met by contemporary architects. The analysis of conditional propositions, employed in the work, written by N.M. Gersevanov, has proven his paper's novelty. The author of this article believes that antecedent and consequent are connected by the symbol of relevant (or nomological) implicationin hispropositions.

Vincenzo Vincenzi, “Geometer and Engineer to Cardinal Borja”

This paper analyses the figure of Vincenzo Vincenzi on the basis of documents that place him in Valencia in 1635 as engineer and geometer to Cardinal Gaspar de Borja y Velasco. Vincenzi, who was born in the Urbino region, worked as a hydraulic engineer at the Villa d’Este in Tivoli. In Rome he made his name as the inventor of the wind gun and the mobile fountain, inventions that were disseminated through the works of Benedetto Castelli and, above all, those of Giovanni Faber who also served as an intermediary, recommending Vincenzi’s services to cardinals such as Emmanuele Pio di Savoia and taking it upon himself to find buyers for the wind gun. Vincenzi worked for the Bentivoglios on the bonifica del Gualtieri, and the Venetian Republic expressed its desire to purchase a number of his inventions, after which he travelled to Spain at the request of Borja in order to drain a salt marsh on the cardinal’s estates.

Erudite Cultural Mediators and the Making of the Renaissance Polymath: The Case of Giorgio Fondulo and Janello Torriani

Janello Torriani, also known by his Spanish name Juanelo Turriano (Cremona ca. 1500–Toledo 1585), was a blacksmith, locksmith, constructor of scientific instruments, famous inventor of mechanical devices, automata-maker, clockmaker to Emperor Charles V, hydraulic engineer, mathematician, star-gazer, bell-designer, surveyor, and author of mathematical treatises to King Philip II of Spain. He was especially famous for his amazing planetary clocks, which he both designed and physically crafted (thanks to the invention of the first known machine-tool to cut gears), and for his hydraulic device of Toledo, the first giant machine in history that elevated water over a slope of ninety metres a distance of three hundred meters. Given this multifaceted professional profile, Torriani has been considered a Renaissance polymath and a genius. This article goes beyond the anachronistic understanding of these two categories, which it deconstructs, by analyzing Torriani’s education and the context of the mathematical professions during the sixteenth century. Janello Torriani, aussi connu sous le nom espagnol de Juanelo Turriano (Crémone c. 1500 – Tolède 1585) fut d’abord au service de l’empereur Charles Quint comme forgeron, serrurier, facteur d’instruments scientifiques, inventeur célèbre pour ses dispositifs mécaniques, constructeur d’automates et horloger ; au service du roi Philippe II d’Espagne, il fut ingénieur hydraulique, mathématicien, astronome, concepteur de cloches, arpenteur géomètre et auteur de traités de mathématiques. Il est surtout connu pour ses étonnantes horloges astronomiques qu’il a à la fois conçues et construites (grâce à l’invention des premières machines à couper les engrenages), et pour ses dispositifs hydrauliques de Tolède, dont la toute première machine permettant d’amener de l’eau vers le haut d’une pente sur une distance de 300 mètres. Pour ses multiples compétences professionnelles, Torriani est considéré comme un véritable polymathe et un génie de la Renaissance. Cet article cherche à dépasser une compréhension anachronique de ces deux catégories, qu’il pour déconstruit, en analysant la formation de Torriani et le contexte de la profession de mathématicien au XVIe siècle.

Design of a Pressurized Rectangular-Shaped Conduit Using the Rough Model Method (Part 1)

The rough model method is successfully used to design a pressurized rectangular shaped conduit characterized by two linear dimensions. In this study, the focus is on the calculation of the horizontal linear dimension of the conduit. In a first step, the method is applied to a referential rough model in order to establish the relationships that govern its hydraulic characteristics. The obtained equations are of the third degree and are easily solved by trigonometric and hyperbolic functions. In a second step, these equations are used to easily deduce the linear dimension sought by introducing a non-dimensional correction factor. Practical example is taken to enable the hydraulic engineer to better understanding the advocated method and to observe the facility with which design of such a geometric profile can be performed. The calculation uses a strict minimum of data measurable in practice, in particular the absolute roughness.