PENNIMAN

PENNIMAN 19.02. 1868 Winsor VT/USA 26.08. 1934 St. Louis MO/USA William Merit Penniman graduated from Dartmouth College, Hanover NH, in 1893 with the BSc degree. He was then employed by the St. Louis District, US Engineer Department, on the improvement of the Mississippi River, remaining there in various grades until his death, finally as senior engineer. From 1907 to 1909 he was engaged as principal engineer on its survey between St. Louis and Cairo IL. His review on methods of the complete river regulation by bank protection, permeable dikes, and submerged dams, published as Appendix 5 to the 1911 Report, was so complete that it was in use for decades. Later, a formula for water flow in open channels was derived, but never published. It has been widely used in the District, where it was known as the Penniman Formula, dealing with the uniform flow in a natural river. Because of his unusual knowledge and technical skill, he was employed during his later years on special investigations and reports. His services were utilized to aid the decisions reached by the Board of Engineers on problems beyond the bounds of St. Louis District. His training of younger engineers to produce accurate and reliable work proved to be of major value for the Engineering Department, since many of his former assistants held later responsible positions in the Districts. His service was characterized by his loyalty to the Department; his open-mindedness and ability to keep informed on the current developments in hydraulics and other engineering aspects made him a person whose counsel was frequently sought. As a tribute to his high standing, the District renamed a large steam towboat Penniman after his death. His long experience embraced a wide range of open-river improvements, including surveys, hydrography, bank protection, contraction work, the design and operation of hydraulic dredges, and other floating plant. He was trained as young engineer by William S. Mitchell (1857-1932). Penniman was fatally stricken two days before his death at age 66 and buried at St. Louis, on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River, which he loved so well. Penniman was member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE since 1923. Anonymous (1936). William M. Penniman. Trans. ASCE 101: 1621-1622. Penniman, W.M. (1911). Review of methods of complete river regulations. House of Representatives, Document No. 50. 61st Congress, 1st Session. Washington DC. www.mvs.usace.army.mil/.../River_Engineers_on_the_Middle_Missis.... P https://www.concordiasentinel.com/news.php?id=7328

PETERKA 14.01. 1911 Cleveland OH/USA 15.01. 1983 Denver CO/USA Alvin Joseph Peterka graduated from Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland OH, in 1934, and added graduate work at the Universities of Tennessee and Colorado. From 1936 to 1946 he was in the staff of the Tennessee Valley Authority TVA, then joining the US Bureau of Reclamation USBR, Denver CO, eventually heading the Special Investigations Section of the USBR Hydraulic Laboratory. Peterka retired from this activity in 1968 to become a consultant. Peterka reported in his 1946 on a tunnel spillway, which was later adopted also for the Glen Canyon Spillway, and on flip buckets. He developed into an expert on high-speed flows, coauthoring the 1948 paper on frictional effects of tunnel flows. This paper was awarded the 1949 ASCE James Laurie Prize. He also was the first to analyze the effect of air entrained on the reduction of cavitation damage in 1953. In 1954, now with USBR, he presented an important study on shaft spillways, an alternative to the standard spillway, thereby investigating both free and submerged flow conditions. At the vertical shaft base, the flow is horizontally deflected to the outlet structure. The so-called morning glory spillway is a standard today provided free surface flow is maintained from the inlet to the outlet. Peterka’s name has become known for his 1958 publication on the design of stilling basins, a notable research campaign undertaken during the 1950s in collaboration with Joseph N. Bradley (1903-1993). Ten different basins were modeltested and designs were proposed that have remained a standard. Anonymous (1950). A.J. Peterka. Civil Engineering 20(1): 42. P Beichley, G.L., Peterka, A.J. (1961). Hydraulic design of hollow-jet valve stilling basins. Journal of the Hydraulics Division ASCE 87(HY5): 1-36. Hager, W.H., Falvey, H.T. (2003). Alvin Peterka: Hydraulic engineer. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 129(9): 657-659. P Hickox, G.H., Peterka, A.J., Elder, R.A. (1948). Friction coefficients in a large tunnel. Trans. ASCE 113: 1027-1046; 113: 1071-1076. Peterka, A.J. (1946). Model and prototype studies on unique spillway. Civil Engineering 16(6): 249-251; 16(8): 359; 16(10): 460-461. Peterka, A.J. (1953). The effect of entrained air on cavitation pitting. 5th IAHR Congress Minneapolis: 507-518. Peterka, A.J. (1958). Hydraulic design of stilling basins and energy dissipators. Engineering Monograph 25. US Dept. of the Interior: Washington DC.