Josef Melan

Josef Melan (1854–1941) was an Austrian engineer. He is regarded as one of the most important pioneers of reinforced concrete bridge-building at the end of the 19th century. Josef Melan is credited as the inventor of the Melan System, a method for the construction of reinforced bridges. He also built the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana.

However, it was not only in composite construction, but also in the field of steel bridge-building that Melan set standards. In 1888 he was the first person to quantify the effects of second-order theory. His books on bridges enjoyed international popularity. For example, in 1913 the American bridge-builder David B. Steinman translated Melan's theory of arch and suspension bridges. Melan also verified the calculations for the Williams Bridge on behalf of the New York Bridges Department and the Hell Gate Bridge for the New York-based Gustav Lindenthal bridges office. His influence on the theory and practice of large bridges in the US during the first two decades of the 20th century is without precedent.

Works Beitrag zur Berechnung eiserner Hallen-Gespärre, in:. Wochenschrift des Österreichischen Ingenieur- und Architekten-Vereines 8 (1883), pp. 149–150 & 162–165. (in German) Ueber den Einfluss der Wärme auf elastische Systeme, in: Wochenschrift des Österreichischen Ingenieur- und Architekten-Vereines 8 (1883), pp. 183–184 & 202. (in German) Beitrag zur Berechnung statisch unbestimmter Stabsysteme, in: Zeitschrift des Österreichischen Ingenieur- und Architekten-Vereines 36 (1884), pp. 100–108. (in German) Theorie der eisernen Bogenbrücken und der Hängebrücken. In: Der Brückenbau. Handbuch der Ingenieurwissenschaften II. Band. Vierte Abteilung. Eiserne Bogenbrücken und Hängebrücken, ed. by J. Melan & T. Schäffer, publ. by T. Schäffer & E. Sonne, 2nd ed, pp. 1–144. Leipzig: Engelmann 1888. (in German) Theorie des Gewölbes und des Eisenbetongewölbes im besonderen. In: Handbuch für Eisenbetonbau. Erster Band: Entwicklungsgeschichte und Theorie des Eisenbetons, ed. by F. v. Emperger, pp. 387–449. Berlin: Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn 1908. (in German) Theory of Arches and Suspension Bridges. Trans. into English by Prof. Dr. Steinman. Chicago: The Myron Clark Publ. Co. 1913. Plain and reinforced concrete arches. Trans. into English by Prof. Dr. Steinman. New York: Wiley 1915.