Franz Dischinger
Encyclopedia
Franz Dischinger was a pioneering German civil
and structural engineer
, responsible for the development of the modern cable-stayed bridge
. He was also a pioneer of the use of prestressed concrete
, patenting the technique of external prestressing (where the prestressing bars or tendons are not encased in the concrete) in 1934.
After completing high school in Karlsruhe
, Germany, Dischinger went to the Technical University in Karlsruhe where he studied and received a degree in building engineering. After getting his degree in 1913, he then started working for Dyckerhoff & Widmann A.G.
, an engineering firm in Germany. In 1928 Dischinger went back to school to receive his doctorate at the Technical School in Dresden, Germany.
In 1922, he designed the Zeiss
Planetarium
in Jena
with Walther Bauersfeld
, using a thin-shell
concrete roof in the shape of a hemisphere
. Their system was subsequently patented, and Dischinger published a paper on the relevant mathematics in 1928.
Since the previous stay and cable bridges in Dischinger's opinion were both flawed technically and disturbing looking, he decided to publish his own cable stayed bridge. This design has been used ever since, more than 100 of these cable stayed bridges have been built.
For the 1938 design of a rail suspension bridge
(not built), he had studied historical bridges incorporating inclined stay elements, such as those by Ferdinand Arnodin
and John Roebling. He went on to design the 183 m span
Strömsund Bridge
in Sweden
, completed in 1955 and generally considered the first of the modern tradition of cable-stayed bridges, although there had been many isolated examples of the bridge form before then. This employed a steel
deck and cables, with large spacings between the stays typical of the early designs. It appears in Strömsund's coat of arms.
Other key works include:
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
and structural engineer
Structural engineer
Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants...
, responsible for the development of the modern cable-stayed bridge
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
. He was also a pioneer of the use of prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete...
, patenting the technique of external prestressing (where the prestressing bars or tendons are not encased in the concrete) in 1934.
After completing high school in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Germany, Dischinger went to the Technical University in Karlsruhe where he studied and received a degree in building engineering. After getting his degree in 1913, he then started working for Dyckerhoff & Widmann A.G.
Dyckerhoff & Widmann (Dywidag)
Dyckerhoff & Widmann AG was a construction company based in Munich, Germany .-History:...
, an engineering firm in Germany. In 1928 Dischinger went back to school to receive his doctorate at the Technical School in Dresden, Germany.
In 1922, he designed the Zeiss
Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss was a German maker of optical instruments commonly known for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss Jena . Zeiss made contributions to lens manufacturing that have aided the modern production of lenses...
Planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
in Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
with Walther Bauersfeld
Walther Bauersfeld
Walther Bauersfeld was a German engineer, employed by the Zeiss Corporation, who, on a suggestion by the German astronomer Max Wolf, started work on the first projection planetarium in 1912. This work was stopped by military needs during World War I, but resumed after the war...
, using a thin-shell
Thin-shell structure
Thin-shell structures are light weight constructions using shell elements. These elements are typically curved and are assembled to large structures...
concrete roof in the shape of a hemisphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
. Their system was subsequently patented, and Dischinger published a paper on the relevant mathematics in 1928.
Since the previous stay and cable bridges in Dischinger's opinion were both flawed technically and disturbing looking, he decided to publish his own cable stayed bridge. This design has been used ever since, more than 100 of these cable stayed bridges have been built.
For the 1938 design of a rail suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
(not built), he had studied historical bridges incorporating inclined stay elements, such as those by Ferdinand Arnodin
Ferdinand Arnodin
Ferdinand Joseph Arnodin was a French engineer and industrialist born in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhône and deceased in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire in Loiret. Specialising in cableway transporters, he is regarded as the inventor of the transporter bridge, having been the first to patent the idea in 1887...
and John Roebling. He went on to design the 183 m span
Span (architecture)
Span is the distance between two intermediate supports for a structure, e.g. a beam or a bridge.A span can be closed by a solid beam or of a rope...
Strömsund Bridge
Strömsund Bridge
The Strömsund Bridge is a cable-stayed road bridge, bringing road E45 over Ströms vattudal, in Strömsund, Jämtland, Sweden.The bridge is 332 m long, with a 182 m long span...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, completed in 1955 and generally considered the first of the modern tradition of cable-stayed bridges, although there had been many isolated examples of the bridge form before then. This employed a steel
Structural steel
Structural steel is steel construction material, a profile, formed with a specific shape or cross section and certain standards of chemical composition and mechanical properties...
deck and cables, with large spacings between the stays typical of the early designs. It appears in Strömsund's coat of arms.
Other key works include:
- Großmarkthalle, BaselBaselBasel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland, 1929 (dome roof) - Market Hall, LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany, 1930 (polygonal dome roofs) - KoblenzKoblenzKoblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
bridge, Germany, 1935 (three arch concrete bridge) - AueAueAue is a small town in Germany at the outlet of the river Schwarzwasser into the river Mulde in the Ore Mountains, and has roughly 18,000 inhabitants. Aue was the administrative seat of the former district of Aue-Schwarzenberg in Saxony, and is part of the Erzgebirgskreis since August 2008...
bridge, Germany, 1936 - Cologne Rodenkirchen BridgeCologne Rodenkirchen BridgeThe Cologne Rodenkirchen Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Rhine located in Cologne, Germany. Completed in 1954, it has a main span of 378 metres. It was named after the Cologne district of Rodenkirchen.-Planning and construction:...
, Cologne, Germany, 1954 (with others, including Fritz LeonhardtFritz LeonhardtFritz Leonhardt was a German structural engineer who made major contributions to 20th century bridge engineering, especially in the development of cable-stayed bridges...
)
External links
- Cable-Stayed Bridges from ASCE journal library