[Assam] More on Minneapolis Collapse

Sun Aug 5 20:54:20 PDT 2007

I saw on CNN that 17% of US bridges are not safe

Umesh

mc mahant <mikemahant at hotmail.com> wrote:    P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma }   more from that Pandora's box:
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  #26

  Re: Bridge collapse  08/05/2007 8:01 PM 
    It is unfortunate that this post duplicates a similar post under Civil Engineering:
 http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/10774/Could-bridge-collapse-be-prevented?frmtrk=CR4digest
 I repeat my post from that thread:
 There are many reasons why bridges collapse. They mostly fall into two major categories: (1) compromised maintenance, (2) unanticipated "features" of a new design concept.
 The history channel has prepared an excellent non-technical review of the recent history of bridge collapses http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=55377&mini_id=1335
 Regarding the second: It is hard to argue against new designs, but since much of the concept polish in engineering is based on lessons learned (from disasters), we should at the very least recognize that there is significant inherent risk coupled with every departure from the tried and true. New concepts are thoroughly investigated by a modeling, but the models only evaluate the problems which we can think of, and often they cheat by adding complexity (tweakable knobs) so that modelers can "tune" their models to compensate for things that they cannot resolve intellectually. This subject is treated at length in an excellent book: The Future of Everything: The Science of Prediction by David Orrell
 As to the first: A call to action was issued following the collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River in 1967 citing to inattention that we pay to our infrastructure. This call has been repeated after each ensuing collapse and is soon forgotten. Politicians play to the whims of the voters, which they skillfully manipulate. Politicians readily decide to spend a trillion dollars on a ill advised war, but can never find funding for basic human needs (education, health care, infrastructure, etc.). It's not their fault: we (re)elect them and put up with their fanciful tirades.
 The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter - Winston Churchill

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  #29

  Re: Bridge collapse  08/05/2007 9:54 PM 
    You make a good point, but your figure of $ 2 billion a week needs some adjustment. How much gasoline, diesel and jet fuel does the services consume in a week? Where does that money go? Mostly to OPEC nations for "oil" at $60 to $75 a bbl. How much of these fuels can be made from a bbl of crude? How much aid, in many forms, do OPEC nations contribute to "the enemy" in Iraq and Afghanistan? How much of that is paid for with "our" oil money to OPEC nations? How many terrorists does Saudi, Iran, Syria, et al train, equip and support? Are we accomplishing any good in Iraq? Is Iraq any better off now that it was 20 years ago under a dictator? How many lives of US service personal is that accomplishment worth? What price does one put on a young, vibrant human life? I submit that we need to increase the numbers of the actual cost of the "war" in Iraq, plus the loss of that money as it contributes to the downside of poor educational reforms here in the US, poor health and
 health insurance for the needy, attention to the infrastructure of roads, bridges and railways, and so on. One can make quite a list! No politics involved here, just facts. When will taxes begin to skyrocket to pay for all the expenditures in Iraq, etc?

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 That shd be enough!
 mm

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