Here in NYC a 3 year old, 450 foot long pedestrian bridge in Brooklyn has to be replaced because it is too "bouncy" and has some other problems. Supposedly the bounciness was by design or at least this was the bill of goods sold to the owner by a certain genius grant "star-gineer". I bring this...
You are most likely ok, based on your numbers. I have learned the hard way in a similar situation to never specify anchor bolt projections on contract drawings.
Seconding calc junkie's point about the ballast. In the sketch, the pad looks pretty small compared to the tower. You need to make sure it will not overturn due to lateral loading. I started college the year the movie "Animal House" came out so maybe I am overly paranoid, but can picture 5 or 6...
Fixity assumptions may be causing the large foundation forces. I am just learning to work with PEMBs myself and got some advice to make sure to cover this in the contract documents. If the PEMB manufacturer designs for fixity at the column bases, they can lighten up the framing. Requiring the...
One thing I like to do is to have junior engineers get in the habit of always "scoping" their assignments. By this I mean they take some time to review the information provided and hopefully ask some questions, and then write down a vision of the completed assignment and the process they will...
I think for bending the impact of the pipes is minimal. Mid depth is probably in the tension zone where the concrete is neglected anyway. For shear, I would reduce the effective width by the sum of the diameters included in the section being checked.
I am updating a calculation where the bearing pressure at the toe of a gravity dam is calculated in the usual way, depending on whether the resultant is in the middle third. Uplift is initially assumed to be a straight line from heel to toe and adjusted by iteration to full headwater pressure...
Excellent and sobering discussion. It seems pretty likely that de-stressing member 11 caused the collapse. If the temporary PT was stressed to 200 kips, de-stressing it would have significantly increased the tension in the adjacent members. Listening to the voicemail was really chilling. I...
It costs time and money to put design progress submittals together, but they provide the client and stakeholders a chance to weigh in thereby reducing the risk of do-overs. In my experience, the number of submittals depends on the size and complezity of the project.
With each design progress...
My company uses SharePoint now, but we have plenty of the same issues we had before we started using it. I think the key is to agree on a workflow at the beginning of construction. There should be a list of submittals that identifies a responsible person for each one. That person coordinates...
I am also someone who tried hard to get through my education with minimal reliance of group homework completion and previous exams. I don't judge people who did so though. There are many career paths to take in engineering and not all of them require technical knowledge. For me, I just wanted...
What about siting of the substation? You can't just plop those things anywhere unless you don't care if they get covered by several feet of water during heavy storms. Just this takes quite a lot of engineering. Sometimes new trenching and building penetrations are needed when changing out...
Once you get closer and start applying to jobs, make sure to include a cover letter stating that you are in the process of relocating to the area in question. You could even give some dates when you plan to be in the area and could be available for an interview - at your own expense. I am in a...
My utility usually includes language in our contracts with consultants that native files shall be submitted upon request. We paid for the work, and we feel we are entitled to the files. This is particularly important when a consultant concludes that a structure or piece of equipment needs to...
Your interests seem to align nicely with dams. There are many current research needs. Just google, and you will find documents listing research needs from FEMA, USACE, USBUR, ASDSO, etc. What do do about aging concrete dams, how to quickly deal with unusual seepage in embankments, what is...
Another way to look would be to prepare a business case for whether or not to do a full replacement. You can include alternatives to do nothing, repair rehabilitation, and even decommissioning. Consider the broad range of construction, maintenance, risks, etc.
jball1 - I appreciate your thoughtful post. Good for your client for sticking to his guns, but sorry for his or her rudeness. I manage a group of engineers for a power utility, and it is a real challenge to get some people to make comments in a courteous but effective manner. Your description...
Being a person who hires engineers and member of Toastmasters myself, I would be impressed by this. Toastmasters is so much more than just giving speeches. It is also about learning to run meetings, speaking informally, giving constructive feedback and most of all listening.
