Miami footbridge collapse
03-16-2018, 10:48 AM
#11
Thanks Deb. I helped my partners in Minneapolis locate the right experts for the job. I have a good deal of experience in construction litigation, so that was my small contribution and we are talking about only a few hours of my time. I'm very proud of my partners and associates who worked thousands of hours to recover for all the injured victims and the survivors of those who perished. And yes, our firm did it pro-bono.
03-16-2018, 08:18 PM
#12
Very impressive Bill, you and firm should be proud.
03-17-2018, 05:15 AM
#13
Thread Starter
it appears that this was strained concrete where the steel cables that run through it are under very high tension.
I suspect one of them was undergoing failure because the tension on it was reported to be low.
When the attempted to tighten it, it snapped.
An obvious question would be was the measuring equipment calibrated correctly.
Perhaps the cables were at the correct tension, but measured low because of a calibration failure.
Once tightened they then exceeded spec and failed.
Updated: apparently they notified FDOT of cracks in the concrete two days before the collapse.
I suspect one of them was undergoing failure because the tension on it was reported to be low.
When the attempted to tighten it, it snapped.
An obvious question would be was the measuring equipment calibrated correctly.
Perhaps the cables were at the correct tension, but measured low because of a calibration failure.
Once tightened they then exceeded spec and failed.
Updated: apparently they notified FDOT of cracks in the concrete two days before the collapse.
Last edited by boltonblue; 03-17-2018 at 05:26 AM.
03-17-2018, 07:17 AM
#14
AVE did a cool set of videos on this with input from his subscribers. Their theiry makes a lot of sense and by the pics looks to be along the right lines. If one of the tension rods (there are both cables snd rods in this design) reached the point of deformation, they would have seen the tension stop building. Further tightening would then lead to fracture. One of the rods in question almost withdrew completely from the hole, and is directly over what apoears to be the failure point. My amateur (although somewhat educated) opinion is it is more likely a fault in the construction method or faulty materiaks rather than the design of the structure. Very sad no matter the cause though.
03-17-2018, 07:20 AM
#15
It also sounds more like there likely was no “stress test” but rather them tensioning the rods and cables as part of normal construction. Hard to know much when the media outlets are more concerned with reporting furst than having the facts. Always makes for a lot of speculation early on.
03-17-2018, 08:18 AM
#16
Thread Starter
yup anybody who's ever tensioned a bolt and felt it go soft would understand what happened.
Technique could have been important when initially torquing the rods.
A little extra oomph and subsequent failure.
ugh even better, the message that the cracks were in the concrete was a voicemail to FDOT.
The FDOT employee didn't play the message until Friday, the day after the failure.
So add lost or missed communication to the failure chain.
Technique could have been important when initially torquing the rods.
A little extra oomph and subsequent failure.
ugh even better, the message that the cracks were in the concrete was a voicemail to FDOT.
The FDOT employee didn't play the message until Friday, the day after the failure.
So add lost or missed communication to the failure chain.
03-17-2018, 03:56 PM
#17
yup anybody who's ever tensioned a bolt and felt it go soft would understand what happened.
Technique could have been important when initially torquing the rods.
A little extra oomph and subsequent failure.
ugh even better, the message that the cracks were in the concrete was a voicemail to FDOT.
The FDOT employee didn't play the message until Friday, the day after the failure.
So add lost or missed communication to the failure chain.
Technique could have been important when initially torquing the rods.
A little extra oomph and subsequent failure.
ugh even better, the message that the cracks were in the concrete was a voicemail to FDOT.
The FDOT employee didn't play the message until Friday, the day after the failure.
So add lost or missed communication to the failure chain.
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