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caisson
caisson [Fr.,=big box], in engineering, a chamber, usually of steel but sometimes of wood or reinforced concrete, used in the construction of foundations or piers in or near a body of water. There are several types. The open caisson is a cylinder or box, open at the top and bottom, of size and shape to suit the projected foundation and with a cutting edge around the bottom. It is sunk by its own weight and by excavation, then filled with concrete. Pneumatic caissons are usually employed in riverbed work or where quicksand is present. In this type the cylinder or box has an airtight bulkhead high enough above the cutting edge to permit men to work underneath it. The air in the chamber beneath the bulkhead is kept under pressure great enough to prevent the entrance of water, while shafts through the bulkhead permit the passage of men, equipment, and excavated material between the bottom and the surface. At the top of each shaft is an air lock to permit communication with the outside without altering the air pressure in the working chamber. As the working chamber moves down, the caisson above the bulkhead and about the shafts is filled with concrete, and when a sufficient depth or bedrock is reached, the working chamber itself is filled, so that there is a solid block of concrete from base to top. Workers leaving a pneumatic caisson after hours of labor under high pressure are given special decompression treatment to accustom them to the lower atmospheric pressure and thus to prevent caisson disease (see decompression sickness ). A type of caisson often called a camel is used to raise sunken vessels. It consists of a cylinder filled with water, which is sunk, attached to the vessel, and emptied by pump or compressed air, so that its buoyancy can assist in raising the vessel. Caissons are also sometimes used for closing the entrance to dry docks or as a substitute for gates in canal locks. |
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"caisson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "caisson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 8, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-caisson.html "caisson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 08, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-caisson.html |
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caisson
caisson, from the French caisson, large chest, basically an enclosed space below water level with means of flooding with, or pumping out, water.
1. A fixed enclosure reaching to the bottom from which the water can be pumped out, or which can alternatively be filled with air under pressure, in order to give access to underwater areas for engineering works, such as the building of piers for bridges, breakwaters, etc. 2. The gate or movable structure which closes the entrance to a dock or dry-dock. 3. A floating platform or tank used by salvage operators. It can be submerged by the admission of water and, when in position under a sunken ship or other obstruction, pumped out in order to use the resulting buoyancy as a lifting force. See also camel. |
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"caisson." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "caisson." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 8, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-caisson.html "caisson." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 08, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-caisson.html |
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caisson
cais·son / ˈkāˌsän; ˈkāsən/ • n. 1. a large watertight chamber, open at the bottom from which the water is kept out by air pressure and in which construction work may be carried out under water. ∎ a floating vessel or watertight structure used as a gate across the entrance of a dry dock or basin. 2. hist. a chest or wagon for holding ammunition. |
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Cite this article
"caisson." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "caisson." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 8, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-caisson.html "caisson." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 08, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-caisson.html |
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caisson
caisson ˈkāˌsän; ˈkāsən n.
1. a large watertight chamber, open at the bottom, from which the water is kept out by air pressure and in which construction work may be carried out under water. 2. a floating vessel or watertight structure used as a gate across the entrance of a dry dock or basin. 3. a chest or wagon for holding or conveying ammunition. |
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Cite this article
"caisson." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "caisson." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 8, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-caisson.html "caisson." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved February 08, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-caisson.html |
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caisson
caisson.
1. Watertight chamber in which underwater construction work takes place. 2. Device for sinking foundations under water or in water-logged conditions, in the form of an air-tight box the size of the pier to be built, which is sunk to bedrock, or other surface on which it is to remain, then filled with concrete. 3. Coffer in ceilings, cupolas, soffits, and vaults. |
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Cite this article
JAMES STEVENS CURL. "caisson." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "caisson." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 8, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-caisson.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "caisson." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 08, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-caisson.html |
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caisson
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T. F. HOAD. "caisson." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "caisson." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 8, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-caisson.html T. F. HOAD. "caisson." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 08, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-caisson.html |
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caisson
caisson
•Masson
•flaxen, Jackson, klaxon, Sachsen, Saxon, waxen
•Samson
•Branson, Jansen, Manson, Nansen
•arson, Carson, fasten, parson, sarsen
•Bresson, delicatessen, Essen, lessen, lesson
•Texan
•Belsen, keelson, Nelson
•Mendelssohn • Empson
•Benson, ensign
•Stetson
•basin, caisson, chasten, diapason, hasten, Jason, mason
•Bateson • handbasin • washbasin
•Freemason • stonemason • Nielsen
•Stevenson
•christen, glisten, listen
•Gibson, Ibsen
•Blixen, Nixon, vixen
•Nilsson, Stillson, Wilson
•Nicholson • Simpson • Whitsun
•Robinson • Acheson
•Addison, Madison
•Edison
•Atkinson • Dickinson • Alison
•Tennyson, venison
•unison
•caparison, comparison, garrison, Harrison
•Ericsson • Morrison
•archdiocesan, diocesan
•jettison • Davisson
•bison, Meissen, Tyson
•Michelson • Robson
•coxswain, oxen
•Mommsen, Thompson
•Johnson, Jonson, sponson, Swanson
•Watson
•coarsen, hoarsen, Orson
•boatswain, bosun
•Robeson • Jolson • moisten • loosen
•Wolfson • Cookson • Hudson
•Bunsen • tutsan
•Grierson, Pearson
•Culbertson • Richardson • Anderson
•Jefferson • Ferguson • Rowlandson
•Amundsen • Emerson • Jespersen
•Saracen • Peterson • Williamson
•person, worsen
•Bergson • chairperson • layperson
•salesperson • sportsperson
•spokesperson
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Cite this article
"caisson." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "caisson." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 8, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-caisson.html "caisson." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 08, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-caisson.html |
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