Asger Skovgaard Ostenfeld (13 October 1866 – 23 September 1931) was a Danish civil engineer who specialized in the theory of steel and reinforced concrete structures. He is now considered to be the founding father of the theory of structures in Denmark.

Biography

Ostenfeld was born in Hvirring near

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

in 1866. From 1900, he was professor of applied mechanics and steel structures at the

Technical University of Denmark The Technical University of Denmark (), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and it is today ran ...

. In 1894, he designed the Langelinie Bridge at

Østerport Station The fortifications of Copenhagen underwent a comprehensive modernization and expansion in the 17th century. The project was commenced and was largely the masterplan of Christian IV in the early 17th century but was continued and completed by his s ...

which at the time was the largest structure in Denmark built by a Danish engineer. In 1926, he was instrumental in creating Denmark's first Theory of Structures Laboratory which he later directed. Ostenfeld published a number of textbooks on the theory of structure which were widely read outside Denmark."Asger Skovgaard Ostenfeld"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 6 May 2011.

Deformation method

Around 1920, Ostenfeld extended Axel Bendixsen's method of deformations together with the force method creating the dual concept of the method of deformations. His method represented significant progress in that "it enables previously analysed structural elements so to speak, to be built on". This is achieved through the introduction of rigidly fixed members for the obstruction of joint rotations. It allows the complete frame to be divided into finite elements.

Principal works

*''Teknisk Elektricitetslære'' (1st edition 1898, 4th edition 1924) *''Teknisk Statik I'' (3rd edition 1920) *''Teknisk Statik II'' (2nd edition 1913) *''Jernkonstruktioner I'' (3rd edition 1921) *''Jernkonstruktioner II'' (2nd edition 1917) *''Jernkonstruktioner III'' (2nd edition 1923) *''Jernbetonbroer'' (2nd edition 1920) *''Die Deformationsmethode'' (1926) *''Exzentrisch beanspruchte Säulen III beliebige Exzentrizität, Versuche mit Holz- und Stahlsäulen'', Copenhagen, 1931. Also contributions to Danish and foreign journals on ''Deformationsmetode'', ''Aabne Broers Sidestivhed'', ''Beregning af Søjler''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostenfeld, Asger Skovgaard Danish civil engineers 19th-century Danish physicists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences 1866 births 1931 deaths 20th-century Danish physicists