Questions tagged [structural-engineering]
Questions related to the integrity, design requirements, or analysis of structures.
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Can the structural integrity of bridges be measured in real-time for safety?
As a follow up to this question, I wonder if structural integrity monitoring information can be provided real-time and to a sufficient degree that safety decisions can realistically be made from the ...
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Stainless steel corrosion resistance in seawater
Stainless steel comes in several qualities.
AISI 303 (1.4305) (Stainless Steel A1) approximately 304 but more machinable due to sulfur.
AISI 304 (1.4301) (Stainless Steel A2) comprises of 18% ...
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How is the design life of a reinforced concrete structure calculated?
The specifications for large structural projects typically call for the structure to have a specific design life. This can be 50 years, 100 years, etc.
Accommodating the design life for steel can be ...
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How to determine the number of effective anchors in a base plate?
The situation is a steel baseplate that has to be anchored to concrete to resist lateral loads.
The lateral load on the base plate is great enough that more than one or two anchor rods are required....
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What is the process for qualifying a weld between structural steel and stainless steel?
In the US, typical structural steel welding is covered by either AWS D1.1 or AWS D1.5 (bridges). Both of these codes cover a wide range of carbon steels.
AWS has a separate code for welding stainless ...
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Does a roadway bridge experience more load when vehicles are parked or when they are moving?
Bridges are designed for the loads that come from the vehicles that are expected to cross them. This includes the weight the vehicle and any dynamic loads that may be introduced from movement of the ...
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What is the longest self support length a chain one molecule wide can be?
Self-support length is the maximum length of a vertical column of the material (assuming a fixed cross-section) that could suspend its own weight when supported only at the top this is an important ...
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What is the maximum length of oil pipelines?
This is inspired by the discussion and controversy surrounding the Keystone Pipeline.
The main part of the Keystone Pipeline system is about 3,400 kilometers long, stretching across a large portion ...
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What is the unbraced length of a pile in soil?
When analyzing a pile or drilled shaft as a beam-column, how do you determine the unbraced length of the portion that is in the ground? Typically, the braced points on a beam or column are well ...
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Do structural engineers carry insurance for catastrophic errors?
A friend of mine is a structural engineer and he often complains to me about how little sleep he gets at night worrying over whether or not he accounted for all the little details involved in his ...
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Is it acceptable to paint weathering steel?
Weathering steel is not typically painted, because it produces a thin rust layer that protects the rest of the steel from further corrosion. Would painting weathering steel be an acceptable additional ...
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Are standard structural bolts acceptable for all cold climates?
The specifications for standard (ASTM A 325) bolts do not list minimum service temperatures. I am thinking of outdoor applications like Alaska or Canada (lows of -60F) and wondering if the cold ...
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How fast does solid waste fall in vertical drain pipes?
Some building are really tall, if you flush the toilet and the contents go into a pipe and straight down, there could be a lot of energy, potentially enough to cause harm to the sewer pipe at the end ...
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