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PennDOT to remove 'plug welds' from 13 bridges to avoid potentially dangerous condition
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | January 7, 2018 | Ed Blazina

Posted on 01/14/2018 8:11:58 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

A crack that closed the Delaware River Bridge between Philadelphia and New Jersey last January has prompted the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to plan repairs to 13 other bridges across the state.

The crack in welding material, which created a 2-inch gap in a major truss, was so serious that officials thought they might have to permanently close the span owned by the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes. As a result of that problem, PennDOT looked for similar issues in other bridges; the repairs will involve drilling out areas where welding occurred to fill improperly drilled holes, called plug welding, and installing bolts to eliminate the potential for cracking at weld sites.

The practice of filling holes drilled in the wrong place to salvage a piece of steel, common in construction projects decades ago, is no longer permitted in high-tension situations because heating the steel for welding can create a weakness that results in cracking.

Lou Ruzzi, PennDOT’s bridge engineer for Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties, said engineers inspected 13 bridges that have steel pieces with plug welds. They didn’t find any problems, but the agency will issue a contract in April to drill out more than 650 plug welds and fill the holes with bolts to eliminate the possibility of cracking in the future.

The bolts won’t attach to anything, but putting a bolt through the hole and a nut on the other end will increase the strength of the pieces, experts said. The contract will be issued in April and the work will cost from $1 million to $1.5 million.

“We haven’t found any bridge with any cracks,” Mr. Ruzzi said. “But we don’t want to take that chance, so that’s why we will repair them.”

(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: bridges; infrastructure; pabridges; paping; paturnpike; penndot; pennsylvania; repairs; safety; transportation
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To: BenLurkin

Bring in “That Man Bolt” to do the repairs.


41 posted on 01/14/2018 10:48:36 AM PST by dennisw (The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong)
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To: Sequoyah101; Chode

I was waiting for one of the Pros on FR to comment on this. I’m no Rocket Engineer but at minimum I would think that a REAL fix would involve a plate on each side extending well past the “problem area” with 4 or 5 bolts on each end.


42 posted on 01/14/2018 10:50:41 AM PST by mabarker1 (Progress- the opposite of congressl)
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To: mabarker1
"welding occurred to fill improperly drilled holes"

guess who i'd be sending the bills to...

43 posted on 01/14/2018 10:58:17 AM PST by Chode (You have all of the resources you are going to have. Abandon your illusions and plan accordingly.)
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To: Stanwood_Dave

Oh C’mon! Welding is no different from painting! If you watch someone doing it for a few minutes you can easily do it too. /S


44 posted on 01/14/2018 10:58:52 AM PST by outofsalt ( If history teaches us anything it's that history rarely teaches us anything)
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To: bankwalker; Sequoyah101

“I don’t understand how putting a bolt through the hole strengthens the piece of steel that the hole is in.”

The heat only weakens the surrounding area, the bolt/washer combo probably extends into the unaffected area.

Remember, this is for tension stress only. Take a piece of 30 mil shower liner (i.e., thick rubber matting) that’s 6” x 6”, drill a half inch hole through the center (if you can without tear it), then grab two sides and pull apart. The liner is very weak at the hole. Then put a half in bolt through it with washers on both sides and secure it tightly with a nut. Then try to pull it apart...much tougher - because you not only lose the advantage of the hole in helping to pull it apart, you now have a section between the washers that won’t even flex. The result is a stronger piece of 6 mil. (you have to ignore gravity in my example, as it doesn’t apply in the case of bridges).

Pretty clever fix, in my opinion.


45 posted on 01/14/2018 10:59:30 AM PST by BobL (I used to own a truck - but I couldn't handle the lifestyle)
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To: mabarker1

“I’m no Rocket Engineer but at minimum I would think that a REAL fix would involve a plate on each side extending well past the “problem area” with 4 or 5 bolts on each end.”

Sounds like a fix, but perhaps it’s overkill when a single bolt plus washers would work.


46 posted on 01/14/2018 11:06:44 AM PST by BobL (I used to own a truck - but I couldn't handle the lifestyle)
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To: Chode

No doubt!


47 posted on 01/14/2018 11:15:00 AM PST by mabarker1 (Progress- the opposite of congressl)
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To: BobL

The 1 bolt plan will not PROPERLY fix the problem.


48 posted on 01/14/2018 11:16:24 AM PST by mabarker1 (Progress- the opposite of congressl)
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To: bankwalker

I don’t understand how putting a bolt through the hole strengthens the piece of steel that the hole is in.

If the heat from the weld plug has already weakened the steel it seems that the damage is already done.
= = =

My first thoughts, too.

Maybe ... If they drill out past the heat affected zone, and put in a bolt to fill the new hole (and treat for corrosion resistance,etc.) ...

but now we have removed material (area) that may increase the stress, as in stress = load / area.

So, I need more data.

OR, because the Govt. is involved,

Drilling something and putting a bolt in could be called Screwing it.

“Bridge is all OK now, we Screwed it up.”


49 posted on 01/14/2018 11:18:50 AM PST by Scrambler Bob (All posts are /s, unless otherwise specified.)
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To: mabarker1

“The 1 bolt plan will not PROPERLY fix the problem.”

I’m not an engineer, so I can’t say I’ve done the stress analysis for thee cases to know either way - but one would think that others have.

As it is, I was just explaining the concept - not stating whether it would work in a particular application.


50 posted on 01/14/2018 11:27:00 AM PST by BobL (I used to own a truck - but I couldn't handle the lifestyle)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

This reminds me of a story my dad told of a lady driving a Model A. She stopped at a filling station and the attendant noticed a crack on one of her fenders. He told her he could stop the crack from going any further if she would like. She said please do. He goes in and gets a brace and bit and drills a hole right at the end of the crack. She looks on with a perplexed look. She asks what that does. He tells her the crack goes into the hole and having no where to get started again stops right there. She says “ I’ll be damned, I always wondered what my belly button was for”.


51 posted on 01/14/2018 11:28:58 AM PST by Lurkina.n.Learnin (Wisdom and education are different things. Don't confuse them.)
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To: Chode
nope...
52 posted on 01/14/2018 11:41:53 AM PST by Chode (You have all of the resources you are going to have. Abandon your illusions and plan accordingly.)
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To: Sequoyah101

Couldn’t they bolt on light, high-strength metal plates made of titanium to add structural support without too much weight?


53 posted on 01/14/2018 12:23:46 PM PST by WMarshal (John McCain is the turd in America's punch bowl. McLame cannot even fake an injury.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
When I don't know anything about a certain field I defer to those who do. I spent a fascinating evening with a friend who is an experienced expert in the practical application of high energy heat induction technology and its effects on steel alloys.

What I got out of it is that this as much an art as it is a science, and the textbook answers sometimes mysteriously just don't fit reality. We ought to be giving the guys who try to get this right, the benefit of the doubt.

54 posted on 01/14/2018 4:41:41 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: null and void
I must be the stupidest person on the Earth. I'm reading your reply {yes I saw the s/ tag} and I wondering what in the world is this person talking about {REF:"Earth Wakes,"} then it hits me after reading my post, apparently I can't spell quake(s), and went with Wakes. What a dummy I am.
(Sound of Homer Simpson) Duh!!!!
55 posted on 01/15/2018 12:37:09 AM PST by Stanwood_Dave ("Testilying." Cop's lie, only while testifying, as taught in their respected Police Academy(s).)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Plug welds???

We could use a few in the House and Senate....

56 posted on 01/15/2018 1:07:32 AM PST by Osage Orange (Watch your six.)
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To: Stanwood_Dave

This is why we never check our own work...


57 posted on 01/15/2018 5:32:22 AM PST by null and void ( The Martians fought global warming, all the plants died and the surface water froze solid....)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin

What you did there, I see it.


58 posted on 01/15/2018 5:34:55 AM PST by null and void ( The Martians fought global warming, all the plants died and the surface water froze solid....)
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