Gustave Magnel
Gustaaf Paul Robert Magnel , mostly Gustave Magnel , (born September 15, 1889 in Essen (Belgium) , † July 5, 1955 in Ghent , Belgium) was a Belgian civil engineer and professor at the University of Ghent , who was known for his expertise in the field of Reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete became known.
Magnel graduated from Ghent University in 1912 with a degree in civil engineering. At the beginning of the First World War he emigrated to London and worked for the construction company DG Somerville & Co. Contractor Co., initially as an engineer and from 1917 as chief engineer. In 1919 he returned to Ghent, where he was head of the laboratory for materials science at the university and at the same time worked as a tutor. From 1922 he gave lectures on the calculation of reinforced concrete. In 1927 he was appointed lecturer at the Faculty of Science ( Faculteit der Wetenschappen ), in 1932 as associate professor and in 1937 as full professor.
In 1934 he was one of the two founders of SECO, the Belgian control and certification office in the construction sector.
In the early 1940s he began research on prestressed concrete based on practical tests in his laboratory at the University of Ghent with the aim of developing calculation standards for the new material patented by Eugène Freyssinet in 1928 . He also developed an anchoring system that was used as the Blaton-Magnel system, particularly in Belgium until the 1960s.
Magnel published textbooks as well as numerous publications on concrete and prestressed concrete and was a member, and in some cases also a board member, of academic and technical associations in Belgium, France, Great Britain and the USA.
At the University of Ghent, he had a decisive influence on the realization of the Technicum , which consisted of several laboratory buildings, and also designed the structural design. He also planned the prestressed concrete structures of the “book tower” (library) designed by Henry van de Velde and the university hospital, which Henry van de Velde had also directed.
He designed the Meuse bridge Sclayn , the first prestressed concrete bridge in Belgium, which had the first prestressed continuous beam .
One of his students arranged for Magnel to be invited to lectures on prestressed concrete in the USA, where he was then commissioned to plan the Walnut Lane Memorial Bridge , the first prestressed concrete bridge in the USA, completed in 1951 .
literature
- Karl-Eugen Kurrer : The History of the Theory of Structures. Searching for Equilibrium , Ernst & Sohn 2018, p. 763 and p. 1026 (biography), ISBN 978-3-433-03229-9
Individual evidence
- ↑ F. Riessauw: Gustaaf Magnel (1889–1955), on the website of Ghent University (PDF; 557 KB)
- ^ S. Van de Voorde, R. De Meyer, L. Taerwe: Gustave Magnel: Pionier van het voorgespannen beton. In: cement 2008 No. 5, pp. 12-17, on the website of Ghent University, (PDF; 415 KB)
- ^ SECO Group - History
- ^ Christian Menn: Reinforced concrete bridges . Springer-Verlag, Vienna, New York 1986, ISBN 3-211-81936-3 , p. 31
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Magnel, Gustave |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Magnel, Gustaaf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian civil engineer, university professor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 15, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | eat |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th July 1955 |
| Place of death | Ghent |