Article

2013-02-01 China-Japan-Koreas

Fireworks cause deadly highway collapse in China

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Posted by DarthVader 2013-02-01 11:42|| || Front Page|| [11131 views ] Top

#1 Not a whole hell of a lot of rebar in that bridge deck.

But hey, what do we Ugly Americans know anyway?

Posted by bigjim-CA 2013-02-01 13:53|| 2013-02-01 13:53|| Front Page Top

#2 looks like an expansion joint between deck sections atop a Pier Cap - not necessarily gonna have a lot of rebar between sections. Then again, it IS China, land of the Flyash Liberation Army

Posted by Frank G 2013-02-01 14:50|| 2013-02-01 14:50|| Front Page Top

#3 Henan province. Hmm.

I don't know how the central government there allocates who gets bridges with rebar and who doesn't.

I mean, you can be fairly certain that Shanghai probably gets rebar in their freeways, and that Harbin didn't get enough.... guess Henan doesn't get enough either.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2013-02-01 15:07|| 2013-02-01 15:07|| Front Page Top

#4 Looks like courtesy rebar on the deck, Commodore Frank. The bridge was supported by 5 precast concrete I beams underneath.

If a whole semi load of fireworks went off nearly at once, there may have been no hope for that bridge, or the people thereon.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2013-02-01 16:35|| 2013-02-01 16:35|| Front Page Top

#5 Yeah Frank, I'm not a SE but I would expect to see precast beams with a continuous deck. Looking at it now I think you are correct, but why would they build it that way???

Posted by bigjim-CA 2013-02-01 17:31|| 2013-02-01 17:31|| Front Page Top

#6 I could'a been some kicka$$ fireworks and shoddy construction. The Chinese are well known for both.

Posted by BrerRabbit 2013-02-01 18:32|| 2013-02-01 18:32|| Front Page Top

#7 Or the money for the construction went elsewhere. Like an officials pocket.

Posted by Charles 2013-02-01 19:42|| 2013-02-01 19:42|| Front Page Top

#8 If a whole semi load of fireworks went off nearly at once, there may have been no hope for that bridge, or the people thereon.

Something similar to gunpowder is used in fireworks. A truck full of fireworks might have been more than the bridge could take. It doesn't have to blow the bridge into billions of pieces - it just has to deliver a shock wave big enough to collapse it. And it looks like that is exactly what happened. Ultimately, they have to look at regulations for trucks carrying hazardous material.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2013-02-01 19:55|| 2013-02-01 19:55|| Front Page Top

#9 current seismic practice is to tie both deck sections together with restrainer rods and/or cable (Coalinga/Landers lessons), and install shear haunches so the section don't displace off the pier cap (Northridge lessons). It appears this bridge had neither, so... vertical displacement at gravitational speed plus explosive force. WE learn more from failures than practice

Posted by Frank G 2013-02-01 20:22|| 2013-02-01 20:22|| Front Page Top

#10 Cool picture.

Posted by Barbara 2013-02-01 21:40|| 2013-02-01 21:40|| Front Page Top

#11 shear haunches

Wait! Are we talking civil engineering or GB's daily Birthday Gam Shot?

Posted by SteveS 2013-02-01 22:33|| 2013-02-01 22:33|| Front Page Top

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