Events Calendar

Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series

Speaker: Patrick D. Weidman, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder

Talk Title: Mathematical Models for the Shape of the Eiffel Tower

Series: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series

Abstract: Equations modeling the shape of the Eiffel Tower are investigated. One model, based on equilibrium of moments, gives the wrong tower curvature. A second model, based on constancy of vertical axial stress, does provide a fair approximation to the tower's skyline profile of twenty-nine contiguous panels. However, neither model can be traced back to Eiffel's writings. Reported here is a new model embodying Eiffel's concern for wind loads on the tower, as documented in his communication to the French Civil Engineering Society on March 30, 1885. The result is a nonlinear, integro-differential equation which may be solved to yield an exponential profile. An analysis of actual panel coordinates reveals a profile closely approximated by two piece-wise continuous exponentials with different growth rates. This is explained by specific safety factors for wind loading that Eiffel & Company incorporated in the design and construction of the free-standing tower.

Host: Paul Ronney

Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Valerie Childress