So things lately have me wondering…
…which structure tends to leave a more lasting impression? I would try and answer this myself, but naturally I am biased based on being a bridge designer for over 11 years now.
So, would all my efforts as a structural engineer be more fulfilling as a building designer or a bridge designer?
[poll=3]
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Airplane live load!
You know, I’ve designed bridges for lots of different loads before (18 wheelers, pedestrians…even a golf cart), but never have I had to design for a jumbo jet. AASHTO has requirements for deflections based on moving loads, I wonder what it would be for this jet? Hopefully this isn’t at a point where the plane touches down and lands…impact on top of that…sheesh!
Bridge Collapse in Burma
My brother-in-law and his colleague brought this to my attention earlier this week. On April 15, 2008, the world’s oldest and longest (1.2 kilometers=0.75 miles=3,937 ft) wooden bridge in Mandalay collapsed after a lot of people walked on it for a Burmese New Year Festival. Here is some of the article from the Mizzima news article…
“The bridge collapsed because a lot of people were walking on it and besides, the bridge was very old. It broke in the middle. It is yet to be repaired,” a resident of Mandalay told Mizzima.
The bridge, the longest and oldest, built with pure teak wood without the use of any metal, is one of the best tourist attractions in Mandalay.
Since the bridge has not yet been repaired, it has become more difficult to cross the lake because it requires people to go around the lake to reach the other side, the local said.
The U Pein Bridge was built in the 18th century when the Innwa king transferred his palace to Amarapura and presented all his teak to the city mayor’s secretary U Pein. U Pein then built the bridge with the teak and it came to be known as the ‘U Pein Bridge’.
The U Pein Bridge, which is wonderfully built only with wood, was built with 1060 teak slats.
Look at the picture below, I have concerns about it already based on the pile to the bottom left of the picture.
Beautiful picture of the bridge at sunset. Click on the picture for a larger version.
New type of covered bridge or just plain screw up?
A couple months back, an email came in from one of the contractors we work with. There “joke” part of it was “How much does a house weigh? More than a rural two land bridge can hold!” I personally prefer to consider it a new type of covered bridge. All that is needed is holes to be placed in each side of the house to allow a drive through.
(Click on images to make bigger.)