When we think of a wall, the first thing that comes to mind is a brick construction that is as straight as possible. It is known that the straight line is the minimum path between 2 points; so, you decide the extremes, you plant 2 stakes, you pull a rope and you start building.
In the county of Suffolk, UK, there is also another example of a wall:
The crinkle crankle wall dates to Ancient Egypt and, among other things, saves bricks.
It has a sinusoidal shape that provides
stability to the structure without the use of pillars or buttresses at regular distances.
For the same height, the number of bricks used in the wall is proportional to the product of its length and its thickness. Suppose that the wall has a sinusoidal shape and consider a section of wall 2π long. If the wall has the form of the function sin(x), then the length of this curve is found by calculating the following integral:
If A = 0 we have a straight line, i.e. a flat wall with length 2π = 6.2832, while if A = 1 the integral is 7.6404; their ratio is worth about 1.22, i.e. 22% more.
But the sinusoidal shape considerably
strengthens the wall and therefore allows you to use only one row of bricks instead
of 2, halving its thickness, i.e. 122% long and 50% wide, in total only 61%
of bricks are used.
As long as the value is less than 100%
you will save material.
But for what value of amplitude A do
we have 100% (i.e. the same number of bricks)?
With A = 2.6 the length is about
6.2822 (almost 2π)
 |
| A = 1 (in red) - A = 2.6 (in blue) |
If you are interested, below you can find a nice list of "crinkle crankle walls" with photos:
Crinkle-Crankle
Walls Of Suffolk : EDitorial 4-Jan-2016
Crinkle crankle wall - Wikipedia
Crinkle-Crankle Wall, Reclaimed Bricks in Ipswich |
RBC – Reclaimed Brick Company
Crinkle crankle wall, Fulbourn © Bob Jones :: Geograph Britain and Ireland
Out and about looking at Crinkle Crankle Walls /
Historical Association
This Wall Uses Fewer Bricks Than A Straight Wall
