Bridge Engineering 01
Engineering Problem: A Backhoe weighing 8
tons is on top of a flatbed trailer and heading east on
Interstate 70 near Hays, Kansas. The extended shovel arm is
made of hardened refined steel and the approaching overpass
is made of commercial-grade concrete, reinforced with 1 1/2
inch steel rebar spaced at 6 inch intervals in a criss-cross
pattern layered at 1 foot vertical spacing.
Solve: When the shovel arm hits the overpass, how fast
do you have to be going to slice the bridge in half? (Assume no
effect for headwind and no braking by the driver...)
Extra Credit: Solve for the time and distance required
for the entire rig to come to a complete stop after hitting the overpass
at the speed calculated above.
Answer: It doesn't really matter. The point
is, the trucking company just bought themselves a bridge.
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