Steel Wedges

A wedge is a simple machine that serves various purposes, such as adjusting the elevation of structural or mechanical parts, providing stability for heavy objects, and splitting a body into two parts. This versatile tool can amplify an applied force, making it easier to manipulate large or heavy objects. Consider using a wedge to lift a heavy slab. Here, the wedge functions by converting the applied force into a much larger force directed almost perpendicular to the initial force. This...

A protocol for the measurement of outgassing rates of hydrogen from ordinary steel vacuum chambers using the rate-of-pressure rise method is presented.

Source: Roberto Leon, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA Hardness testing is one of the most universally valuable mechanical tests available to engineers, as it is both simple and relatively inexpensive for the wealth of information and data it produces. Hardness testing, generally in the form of a surface penetration test, is both quicker and less destructive than tensile testing. Hardness provides a linear relationship with tensile strength over a...

Source: Roberto Leon, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA In the design of civil works, it is important to deliver structures that are not only safe under unexpected loads, but also provide excellent performance under everyday loads at a reasonable economic cost. The latter is often tied to minimum use of materials, ease of fabrication, and rapid construction in the field. Structures made of steel members can be very economical because of the great...

Source: Roberto Leon, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA The importance of materials to human development is clearly captured by the early classifications of world history into periods such as the Stone Age, Iron Age, and the Bronze Age. The introduction of the Siemens and Bessemer processes to produce steels in the mid-1800s is arguably the single most important development in launching the Industrial Revolution that transformed much of Europe and...