The Science of Bridge Collapse Prevention

toddatcw writes "In the wake of the Minneapolis Interstate 35W bridge collapse this week, Computerworld investigates ongoing research which could someday help to prevent future disasters. Acoustic emissions detection systems, which listen for the sounds of metal snapping on structures, are already sold and fitted. Likewise, a new generation of detector systems that monitor for tilting of bridge columns and piers are being designed, prototyped, and researched. 'Sound waves move more efficiently through solid objects than through air, making any sounds easier to listen out for, Tamutus said. "It's not amazing. It's simple. Doctors use stethoscopes all the time. If you put your ear on a train track, you can hear a train approaching from far away... The Sensor Highway II systems, which are portable and can be moved from bridge to bridge as needed, usually cost between $20,000 to several hundred thousand dollars each. Typically, evaluations take between one day and a week.'"

Comments

Re:The bigger problem

[Anonymous Coward]

It was rated 'structurally deficient':

The Minneapolis bridge's deck, or driving surface, was rated in "fair condition." The superstructure was in "poor condition," and the substructure in "satisfactory condition." It looks like the 'satisfactory' substructure is what failed. Repairs to the driving surface and the trivial superstructure were ongoing. There was no indication from inspections that the substructure was in need of immediate repairs.

The classification of structurally deficient means that either the surface, the superstructure, or the substructure was rated poor. In this case it was the superstructure which for this particular bridge did not provide support. A little bit of repairs to the superstructure and this bridge would have been cleared of its structurally deficient rating.