In my opinion, computer modelling has made the design process much more accurate, and structures shouldn't be built as conservatively as they have been in the past (when detailed design was much too tedious).
even still, as a structural engineer, things like this make me really shudder. you quickly remember what you're number one mandate in design is: public safety.
Yeah, I'm in the structural bussiness myself on the drafting end and being able to have 3D models for every thing does make things a lot easier to work with for all parties.
This collapse is something else though and they did say the work being done seemed to be resurfacing which shouldn't have much if any effect on the structure.
They talked to someone who was luckey enough to be able to walk away and they showed her car on the bridge with a truck that flipped in the air and landed on the back of her vehichle. Sounded surreal with objects suddenly being launched in the air and a feeling of weightlessness. Absoulutely crazy, and a terrible time for it to happen to boot.
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Yeah, I'm in the structural bussiness myself on the drafting end and being able to have 3D models for every thing does make things a lot easier to work with for all parties.
I think using of FEM and CAE has made structures in general much more cheaper, not necessarily stronger. It's easy to model structures and you get pretty coloured pictures of the stress levels, but you need a lot of expertese to interpret those correctly.
My guess is that this was caused by fatigue in in the weld toe or root. It is very hard to model accurately and only recently there has been good research on this matter.
...Ahh, and I live in a city nicknamed the "City of Bridges" (which just two years ago was listed as the city with the third highest number of structurally unsound bridges in the US.).
Nine confirmed dead, according to the Star Tribune out of Minne. (via the TV, CNN or FoxNews, not sure, someone in the other room is flipping through the stations)
...Ahh, and I live in a city nicknamed the "City of Bridges" (which just two years ago was listed as the city with the third highest number of structurally unsound bridges in the US.).
Nine confirmed dead, according to the Star Tribune out of Minne. (via the TV, CNN or FoxNews, not sure, someone in the other room is flipping through the stations)
But don't they have the most number of bridges? So that means that per 100 bridges, less are actually unsound in Pittsburgh. Or something.
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I'm still glad I don't have to drive over any of the major bridges in the city for a few weeks.
That's true. It's a very bridgy city. I'd be more concerned about the tunnels if I was stuck in one. But that's just me, I'm rather clausterphobic sometimes.
Anyway, in regards to this thread, With only 9 deaths, I'd venture a guess that most, if not all of the kids on the school bus got out safely, and that was my biggest concern.
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If edmonton wins the cup in the next decade I will buy everyone on CP a bottle of vodka.
That's true. It's a very bridgy city. I'd be more concerned about the tunnels if I was stuck in one. But that's just me, I'm rather clausterphobic sometimes.
Anyway, in regards to this thread, With only 9 deaths, I'd venture a guess that most, if not all of the kids on the school bus got out safely, and that was my biggest concern.
According to one of the news stations, they just said that all of the children from that bus are doing quite well, just minor injuries. Nothing official, but that's what the guy on TV said.
[quote=FireFly;957565]That's true. It's a very bridgy city. I'd be more concerned about the tunnels if I was stuck in one. But that's just me, I'm rather clausterphobic sometimes.[quote]
I think I'd be pretty level-headed in an emergency, but tunnels / cave-ins would do me for certain. Caving, especially underwater caving (okay....spelunking for you vocabulary wonks), holds absolutely NO allure for Biff. Creeped-out, big time.
That's true. It's a very bridgy city. I'd be more concerned about the tunnels if I was stuck in one. But that's just me, I'm rather clausterphobic sometimes.
I think I'd be pretty level-headed in an emergency, but tunnels / cave-ins would do me for certain. Caving, especially underwater caving (okay....spelunking for you vocabulary wonks), holds absolutely NO allure for Biff. Creeped-out, big time.
Well Pittsburgh is mountains and rivers. The tunnels go into bridges and then into tunnels again. It's just crazy. In every direction out of downtown it goes from a bridge to a tunnel, I swear. Although Nat could probably swear better for me. Maybe there are more directions, but that's what it felt like.
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If edmonton wins the cup in the next decade I will buy everyone on CP a bottle of vodka.
Well Pittsburgh is mountains and rivers. The tunnels go into bridges and then into tunnels again. It's just crazy. In every direction out of downtown it goes from a bridge to a tunnel, I swear. Although Nat could probably swear better for me. Maybe there are more directions, but that's what it felt like.
Every way out of the city is a bridge, pretty much--but only three of them are tunnels.
But the city was built around three rivers, so yeah, lots of bridges, and quite a few tunnels, because there are lots of hills/mountains all around. My best friend is terrified of bridges, the first time he came to visit me, he ended up with a jacket over his head a few times over that weekend. I'm sure he was just THRILLED to see the footage of this, since he's coming to visit me in just a couple of weeks here.
All i could think about was how i have driven on that road about 3 or 4 times while travelling through the city... it was a little known way to cut down time during non-peak times.
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Anyway, in regards to this thread, With only 9 deaths, I'd venture a guess that most, if not all of the kids on the school bus got out safely, and that was my biggest concern.
CNN says all those kids survived.
There are conflicting reports now of confirmed dead. 9 has been the highest but a police official has said that 4 are confirmed dead.
however....there are more than 20 missing still and presumed trapped under the water.
I35W there is a four-lane highway. Two of the lanes (one in each direction) were closed due to work being done. This could have been so much worse.
I talked to my old man (who lives there - ironically my mom is out here with me right now) and he said it was pretty scary.
My sister is a nurse at one of the hospitals in Minneapolis and she said that every hospital in the Twin Cities was on a Code Orange.
The Minneapolis Fire Chief said that 22 of 26 trucks in the city of Minneapolis were on site, and they left four back because that was the minimum number they felt comfortable having in reserve should something ELSE happen.
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