EiffelTowertext.doc.docVIP

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower was the winning entry in a competition for a ‘centerpiece’ for the Paris Exposition of 1889. The design by Gustav Eiffel, an engineer, was selected from over three hundred entries for its striking design and for its economical structure which displayed the French prowess in metal construction. Geometry and Materials. The Tower is made exclusively of wrought iron, although steel was available at the time. Eiffel chose iron because steel was more expensive since it was a new development and because he was experienced and confident in iron design. Since the Eiffel Tower is also a tower structure, it will behave much like the Washington Monument. However, there are some important differences. The Tower is nearly twice as tall as the Monument and, therefore, its form is directly influenced by the wind. Dead loads are the most influential in the Monument’s form. This dominant wind load makes the Tower act as a cantilever rather than as a column. A cantilever is usually a horizontal projection (rather than a vertical upright) rigidly supported at only one end, but this vertical structure is a good example to explain cantilever and show the most efficient shape one can have. In the Monument analysis the following equation was given as a division between columnar and cantilevered structures: The following analysis finds values of NG and NW which yield a ratio of 1.34 which is only 0.01 higher than 4/3. However, this ratio is misleading in this circumstance because the Tower was designed to efficiently resist wind loads, i.e., its base is splayed. If the Tower had a narrower base (e.g. half the width) then the ratio would be much higher because the effect of the wind would increase (e.g. N would double and the ratio would be 1.7 which is much larger than 4/3.) This indicates that the wind is the more important load and will influence the overall form of the structure more than the dead load. The Tower is used to introduce the cantilever