Abstract: An enhancing mechanism to be placed primarily below the neutral axis of a girder is presented. The movement and deflection of the girder causes the enhancing mechanism to alter the bending moment distribution of the girder. The mechanism is configured so that when combined with the girder, the overall dimensions of the combined system is not much bigger than the dimensions of the girder alone. A tension member may be incorporated into the lower boundary of the enhancing mechanism, and connections are used to attach the mechanism to the girder below the neutral axis. The girder and the enhancing mechanism may be made of the same material or different materials. The compression forces developed in the long diagonal members of the enhancing mechanism become a reaction at the girder end points. A direct connection of the long diagonal members to support points load shear directly to the end supports.

Abstract: Non-prismatic shank fasteners, such as nails, for wood and similar soft materials have a plurality of longitudinal extending non-congruent sections having different geometries, different configurations, and varying diameters such that the shank has the widest nominal diameter arranged to span a joint between wood members being fastened. The shank has four circumferentially symmetrically disposed grooves and ridges having dimensions within pre-determined ranges such that the ridges have sufficient strength to withstand the forces imposed on the shank being driven into the parent material and to resist loads imposed upon them by the loads to the parent material. The grooves have a sufficiently wide jaw opening to allow elastically compressed parent material to enter the groove and provide support to the shank. The non-prismatic grooved shanks demonstrate significantly greater load handling capability than that possessed by other known types of fasteners.

Abstract: An enhancing mechanism to be placed primarily below the neutral axis of a girder is presented. The movement and deflection of the girder causes the enhancing mechanism to alter the bending moment distribution of the girder. The mechanism is configured so that when combined with the girder, the overall dimensions of the combined system is not much bigger than the dimensions of the girder alone. A tension member may be incorporated into the lower boundary of the enhancing mechanism, and connections are used to attach the mechanism to the girder below the neutral axis. The girder and the enhancing mechanism may be made of the same material or different materials. The compression forces developed in the long diagonal members of the enhancing mechanism become a reaction at the girder end points. A direct connection of the long diagonal members to support points load shear directly to the end supports.

Abstract: An enhancing mechanism to be placed primarily below the neutral axis of a girder is presented. The movement and deflection of the girder causes the enhancing mechanism to alter the bending moment distribution of the girder. The mechanism is configured so that when combined with the girder, the overall dimensions of the combined system is not much bigger than the dimensions of the girder alone. A tension member may be incorporated into the lower boundary of the enhancing mechanism, and connections are used to attach the mechanism to the girder below the neutral axis. The girder and the enhancing mechanism may be made of the same material or different materials. The compression forces developed in the long diagonal members of the enhancing mechanism become a reaction at the girder end points. A direct connection of the long diagonal members to support points load shear directly to the end supports.

Abstract: A hull form is presented and dimensioned where the design parameters consist principally of the breadth of the hull at the waterline, taken at specific equal intervals along the length of the waterline. The waterline reference is that at which the vessel is intended to float in the loaded condition. The waterline breadths describe the entrance or bow of the vessel. The closing run or stem of the vessel is not specifically delineated as a feature of the entrance or related to it. The invention defines two parts of the vessel, the entrance and the run, as discrete segments, each having its own properties and advantages. The entrance of the vessel is concerned with wave-making and the creating of a wave front that opposes vessel forward motion. The invention describes a method of optimizing the entrance of a vessel, and modifying the entrance of an existing vessel to minimize wave-making characteristics.

Abstract: A hull form which operates in the speed ranges where both planing and wave making affect hull resistance is presented with a configuration which reduces wave drag and improves performance in very fast and ultra-faste speed ranges. The specific distribution of immersed cross-sectional area minimizes bow wave making and optimizes the closing wake. Bow wave impedes forward motion of a hull form. Stern closing wake pushes the hull forward and enhances the forward motion. The bow sections are designed so that they have a “hollow” entrance configuration which decreases the effort to spread the water and in turn diminishes the wave making as the hull pushes through the water. The stern sections are designed to be of such a configuration that as the water spread by the bow (34) now must close in around the stern (35) of the hull, the wave height is increased so that the closing wake exerts a forward thrust on the hull.

Abstract: A floating platform held in position or moored by lines or piles and providing a suitable landing for vessels for the loading and unloading of passengers and cargo. The floating platform has a configuration of buoyant elements that simultaneously support the platform and combine to reduce and minimize the effects that waves have upon the motions of the landing by distributing wave energy along the length and breadth of the platform in such a way that the energies cancel each other. The buoyant elements of the float are connected by rigid bridge structures that span open volumes which do not provide buoyancy. The distance between the pontoons, or floatation cells, regulates the amount of dampening provided by the system. The bridged gap between the buoyant pontoons is covered by a deck structure capable of supporting any designated design load. The complete deck surface of the landing has a continuous appearance, unbroken by the gap in the floatation cells.

Abstract: A truss for distributing a maximum bending moment normally occurring at a midpoint region of a girder (430) includes a first truss segment member (505) having first and second ends, a second truss segment member (420) having first and second ends, a third truss segment member (510) having first and second ends, a fourth truss segment member (425) having first and second ends, and a fifth truss segment member (415) having first and second ends. The first end of the first truss segment member (505) is attached substantially perpendicular to the girder at a first location near the midpoint region of the girder and the second end of the second truss segment member (420) is attached to the second end of the first truss segment member (505). The first end of the third truss segment member (510) is attached substantially perpendicular to the girder (430) at a second location near the midpoint region of the girder. The first location is located between the second location and the first end of the girder.