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caisson

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caisson

Hollow cylindrical or boxlike structure, usually of reinforced concrete, sunk into a riverbed to form the foundations of a bridge.

An open caisson is open at the top and at the bottom, where there is a wedge-shaped cutting edge. Material is excavated from inside, allowing the caisson to sink. A pneumatic caisson has a pressurized chamber at the bottom, in which workers carry out the excavation. The air pressure prevents the surrounding water entering; the workers enter and leave the chamber through an airlock, allowing for a suitable decompression period to prevent decompression sickness (the so-called bends).



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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
A battery of artillery followed, the cannoneers riding with folded arms on limber and caisson.
Can Such Things Be? by Bierce, Ambrose View in context
At a few steps distant from the vehicle he now found a company of some thirty stragglers collected around an immense fire, which they were feeding with planks, caisson covers, wheels, and broken carriages.
Adieu by de Balzac, Honore View in context
Cossacks, foot and horse soldiers, wagons, caissons, and cannon were everywhere.
War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo View in context
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