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Experts raise new doubts about essential Bay Bridge rods
Sacramento Bee ^ | December 8, 2013 | Charles Piller

Posted on 12/08/2013 12:37:55 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

Yun Chung, a retired engineer and metallurgist, read the official report explaining why massive, high-strength steel rods on the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge broke last March and was stunned – then alarmed.

At first glance, Chung said about the July report, he saw obvious errors – some typographical, others that confused basic terminology. Digging deeper, he discovered more important problems. He concluded that the analysis defied metallurgical science and common sense.

“I think it’s very shameful that in this public document, this important (oversight) report, there are so many errors. (I have) a sense of outrage,” Chung said in an interview last week.

[snip]

Chung said he couldn’t understand how the oversight group, its consultants, and even a review team from the Federal Highway Administration missed such an obvious conclusion: Over five years, water corroded the bottoms of the rods – where all 32 breaks occurred. That was the primary reason they snapped when tightened. Corrosion introduced too much hydrogen into the steel at those locations.

Underplaying the environmental cause for the breaks – “the most fundamental error in the (oversight) report” – Chung and Thomas wrote, led to apparent complacency among oversight officials about future corrosion from the bay’s marine conditions.

As a precaution against corrosion, giant rods on the suspension span’s eastern anchorage and others at the top and base of the tower “are housed inside a watertight, dehumidified chamber so moisture is not readily present,” according to the oversight group’s report.

Chung and Thomas said that in the bay’s marine air, the chambers must be more than watertight – they should be airtight to prevent corrosion. Pizzo agreed that airtight chambers would be necessary...

(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: baybridge; bridge; bridgesafety; rods
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To: BudgieRamone

Interesting.....


21 posted on 12/08/2013 5:09:38 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Walkingfeather

The thing is, if people are so sloppy about basic grammar and spelling, what else are they sloppy about? In general, people are sloppy about everything, or meticulous about everything.

It is important in this case, because this report has implications for the future of the new bridge. What if the bridge is headed for catastrophic failure and no one recognizes the possibility because everyone who should see it coming is sloppy and cuts corners?


22 posted on 12/08/2013 5:16:30 AM PST by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
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To: Irenic
"Chung said he couldn’t understand how the oversight group, its consultants, and even a review team from the Federal Highway Administration missed such an obvious conclusion…"

The predictable outcome from decades of affirmative action programs in education and hiring practices, coupled with graft, corruption, incompetence, and collectivist group think. Welcome to the Third World.
23 posted on 12/08/2013 5:33:57 AM PST by PowderMonkey (WILL WORK FOR AMMO)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Just some more infrastructure built with ‘coolie labor’.


24 posted on 12/08/2013 5:53:34 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Is “made in China” a guarantee that it’s inferior?

I will guarantee if the Obamacare system was made in China the quality would have been 1,000% better.

Why? In China poor performance and ineptitude results in removal from the job.....or worse yet.....removal from this earth.

In Obama’s world failure or poor quality is always blamed on some other factor and no one is punished.

China quality VS American quality? Used to be that the word “china” on anything meant sorry quality. Now, it’s the other way around.


25 posted on 12/08/2013 5:53:41 AM PST by DH (Once the tainted finger of government touches anything the rot begins)
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To: DH
While the quality of some Chinese manufacturing has improved considerably over the past couple decades...

I will guarantee if the Obamacare system was made in China the quality would have been 1,000% better.

I would remind you that 10X better still isn't much when you start with a turd.

26 posted on 12/08/2013 5:57:17 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: exDemMom

The thing is, if people are so sloppy about basic grammar and spelling, what else are they sloppy about?

&&&
Exactly. That is my argument always.

Society is reaping the crops sown by our deliberately dumbed-down education systems.


27 posted on 12/08/2013 6:10:05 AM PST by Bigg Red (Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage. -Ps27)
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To: 21twelve
Here in Seattle they just tore down a 13-story skyscraper. It was built about 10 years ago. They started having corrosion in the pre-tensioned wires. They were supposed to have a dab of epoxy on the ends. The guy didn’t do his job. And managers, inspectors, etc. didn’t do their jobs.

In Boston's Big Dig, a tunnel panel came down and crushed a lady in a car. Apparently epoxy was used to hold them up. A friend's dad who had extensive experience in that area said that there were probably two issues--first, the strength of the epoxy was mixture-sensitive, but second (and probably more importantly) the joint had to be completely clean before the cement was applied--no residual concrete dust. Wouldn't you suspect worker sloppiness in this area? A lot of time and money was spent inspecting the remaining panels, and there were a lot of poor joints.

28 posted on 12/08/2013 6:29:32 AM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
The use of such large rods is unprecedented, Chung and Thomas wrote, so academic literature offers no way to assess their vulnerability to cracking. The rods “might be more susceptible to (hydrogen-embrittlement) cracking than any other anchor rods on the new Bay Bridge,” Chung said, including some of those being replaced.

Me thinks this is more of a design problem....why did this design require "unprecedented" large rods.....smells like brute force engineering was at play. The Gallopin' Gertie

29 posted on 12/08/2013 6:36:33 AM PST by Donald Rumsfeld Fan
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Yes but the back story is that those same people who are crying spent the last 25 years running any business capable of making such parts out of Kalifornia.


30 posted on 12/08/2013 6:49:09 AM PST by mad_as_he$$
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To: T-Bird45

Spelling and grammar are more important when you are placing lives on them and getting PAID for “work”. FR, not so much.


31 posted on 12/08/2013 6:52:13 AM PST by mad_as_he$$
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To: BudgieRamone

Glad to hear that!!!!


32 posted on 12/08/2013 6:54:51 AM PST by mad_as_he$$
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To: Mr Ramsbotham

Well, that sure answers a lot.


33 posted on 12/08/2013 7:06:15 AM PST by X-spurt (CRUZ missile - armed and ready.)
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To: 21twelve
I’m guessing it will be a tad more expensive to tear down the bridge and start from scratch.

Another 7.0 like the Loma Prieta quake will make quick work of the destruction. Just pray you're not on the span when it ends up on the bottom of the bay.

34 posted on 12/08/2013 7:09:03 AM PST by hattend (Firearms and ammunition...the only growing industries under the Obama regime.)
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To: taildragger
FR-er Metallurgical wonks please respond, is this a form of "Hydrogen Embrittlement"?

Yes. High Tensile steel is prone to hydrogen embrfittlement. It is actually atomic hydrogeon i.e. H1 not H2 the molecule. The hydrogen gets into the crystal lattice of the steel and weakens it. It literally forces the lattice structure apart at an atomic level. Mild steel is not subject to this nor is stainless steel. However, they do not have the strength of high tensile steel. This is an engineering fiasco. It did not need to happen. It can be engineered around with different metals. Larger rods of a lower tensile steel could have given the strength needed and not be subject to embrittlement.

F---ing idiots.

35 posted on 12/08/2013 7:16:17 AM PST by cpdiii (Deckhand, Roughneck, Mud Man, Geologist, Pilot, Pharmacist. THE CONSTITUTION IS WORTH DYING FOR!)
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To: DH

Horse-hockey!

Unconcerned with quality and workmanship, buy Chinese.


36 posted on 12/08/2013 7:17:08 AM PST by X-spurt (CRUZ missile - armed and ready.)
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To: Walkingfeather
Policy should be....Read what is intended, if you need clarification between their , there and they’re ask it , move on, don’t be a smug grammatical a hole.

No!

Why should we have to ask people for clarification when, with a little effort on their part, clarity would be built into their writing? Long live spelling/grammatical (especially in technical writing) a-holes! Why can't 'writers' learn grammar and spelling? If they can't do that or can't take the care to use proper grammar, it makes one suspicious of their content.

Typos happen, which is why proofreading is important. On FR, we often get so excited that we hit "Post" before we check our writing. Many of us are guilty of that.

When a person is unclear in a mathematical, technical, engineering, or scientific text, there is no "Read what is intended."

There are many slippery slopes in life. Why not take care of those we can control?

37 posted on 12/08/2013 7:22:55 AM PST by Right Wing Assault
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To: T-Bird45
"he saw obvious errors – some typographical, others that confused basic terminology."

What this suggests to me is that the people who prepared the report are unqualified and don't understand what it is going to take to fix the problem. But that's the way the Government works in California.

38 posted on 12/08/2013 7:45:37 AM PST by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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To: BudgieRamone
"Rumour has it the owner broke it off in their backside."

Good man.

39 posted on 12/08/2013 7:48:38 AM PST by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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To: PowderMonkey

Bump.


40 posted on 12/08/2013 7:49:52 AM PST by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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