Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges were constructed in 480 BC during the second Persian invasion of Greece upon the order of Xerxes I of Persia for the purpose of Xerxes’ army to traverse the Hellespont (the present day Dardanelles) from Asia into Thrace, then also controlled by Persia (in the European part of modern Turkey). The bridges were described by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus in his "Histories", but little other evidence confirms Herodotus' story in this respect. Most modern historians accept the building of the bridges as such, but practically all details related by Herodotus are subject to
Cable fairing Cable fairing A cable fairing is a structure attached to a towed cable designed to streamline the flow around the cable, primarily in marine environments. Cables are faired primarily for two reasons: (1) to reduce normal drag and thus achieve more depth for a given cable scope and speed; and (2) to eliminate cable vibration caused by vortex shedding, commonly known as cable strum. There are several major types of cable fairing: All cables (faired or unfaired) have hydrodynamic loading functions. These describe the variation in drag coefficient as a function of angle formula_1 with respect to the flow. As