Flying Cheesehead

[Lawreston]

Kent: Have you ever "flown" an I-beam?

1½ miles from my house on July 08: 70,000 lbs., 120 feet long; the first of 12 I-beams to come in replacing our only access between Georgetown Island and
Arrowsic Island. The old bridge had same type of construction as the Minneapolis bridge that went in. The original was moved off the concrete, is now a temporary on new footings. All new bridge is being built. The big piece of steel, at 5:30 p.m. and in the rain, was left sitting on the barge and will be seated on the concrete tomorrow.

HR

 

[EdFred]

That actually looks like a "W" shape. Yes, I said W. I don't know the history of why they give them the designation of W, but they do. There are two main different types of beams....w shapes, and s shapes. W's have parallel flanges and the S's have sloped flanges

 

[Clark1961]

That actually looks like a "W" shape. Yes, I said W. I don't know the history of why they give them the designation of W, but they do. There are two main different types of beams....w shapes, and s shapes. W's have parallel flanges and the S's have sloped flanges

But it is an "I" section, not the more common "H."

 

[Lawreston]

On "this" side of the bridge there were 89 vehicles being held while the I-beam transfer was underway. I counted them from my position granted by security. And when they had moved there were 65 waiting on the far side of the one-way traffic. This whole island has a population of 1100. Oh, I forgot; this is summer(not that we've seen much in all the rain) and the population greatly expands from June to Sept./Oct.

HR
Photo of float in July 4 parade of 2007
(Even year-round there are a lot of retired people here; hence the joke about "200 working.")

 

[EdFred]

But it is an "I" section, not the more common "H."

Actually, in construction the more common shape is the "I". But like I said, parallel flanged beams and columns are W shapes. But what would I know. It's not like I worked in that field doing design work or anything.

 

[Clark1961]

Actually, in construction the more common shape is the "I". But like I said, parallel flanged beams and columns are W shapes. But what would I know. It's not like I worked in that field doing design work or anything.

Gotta disagree with you on the "H" versus "I." Of course I've only only seen construction in the midwest and offshore so maybe you folks do things different. Heck, around here CDOT uses "H" for some bridges. It's weird when you see it but that's just the way it is. All the tall stuff they build downtown is "H." Maybe you see different stuff.

You did note that I didn't mention "W" or "S" section didn't you?

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Kent: Have you ever "flown" an I-beam?

Nope - I'm just a boring van driver (the flat-bedders just get killed a little too often for my taste) and the company didn't do any specialized hauling.

I've seen a lot of 'em, though, because there's a company in Wausau that builds 'em. You can see their yard here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...848,-89.682673&spn=0.005467,0.011255&t=h&z=17 Roehl's specialized division did most of the hauling for that place.

 

[Lawreston]

What was unusual -- to me -- was that when I took the first of over 30 photos the 120' long I-beam constituted a long rig. When all traffic had been stopped -- and I had moved to the other side of the river -- the load was backed and then driven onto the temporary bridge from which position the crane then maneuvered the transition. Shortly after, the trucker drove forward and out of sight so he could reverse his direction. And by that time the trailer was a whole lot shorter than when he was loaded. Is that one long/short hydraulic device that allows the triple tandem rear to accommodate the lengthy load of steel? Pretty neat!

HR

 

[flyingcheesehead]

What was unusual -- to me -- was that when I took the first of over 30 photos the 120' long I-beam constituted a long rig. When all traffic had been stopped -- and I had moved to the other side of the river -- the load was backed and then driven onto the temporary bridge from which position the crane then maneuvered the transition. Shortly after, the trucker drove forward and out of sight so he could reverse his direction. And by that time the trailer was a whole lot shorter than when he was loaded. Is that one long/short hydraulic device that allows the triple tandem rear to accommodate the lengthy load of steel? Pretty neat!

Could be one of two things. There are "trombone" trailers to accommodate loads of varying lengths. Nothing fancy like hydraulics though - Release the pins, set the trailer brakes, and drive forward to lengthen the trailer or back up to shorten it.

However, on these long I-beam loads, often the beam itself *is* the trailer. The front end will be hooked to a piece that rides on the tractor's fifth wheel, the air hoses and electrical cables will be strung along the length of the beam, and then there's what basically amounts to a small chunk of a trailer at the back that has a few axles, a short flatbed deck, and a bracket that extends out from the front of it and hooks to the I-beam to keep the trailer part from twisting at all.

 

[gprellwitz]

Could be one of two things. There are "trombone" trailers to accommodate loads of varying lengths. Nothing fancy like hydraulics though - Release the pins, set the trailer brakes, and drive forward to lengthen the trailer or back up to shorten it.

However, on these long I-beam loads, often the beam itself *is* the trailer. The front end will be hooked to a piece that rides on the tractor's fifth wheel, the air hoses and electrical cables will be strung along the length of the beam, and then there's what basically amounts to a small chunk of a trailer at the back that has a few axles, a short flatbed deck, and a bracket that extends out from the front of it and hooks to the I-beam to keep the trailer part from twisting at all.

FWIW, I was envisioning the second type. I've seen those on the road before. Neat!

 

[Rob Schaffer]

A long time ago, beams and girders were designated WF or B on plans. These were "I" Shapes Now, Wide flange shapes ( I Sections) are designated W shapes per AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction). As Ed stated, these are rolled shapes with rectangular flanges.

American Standard S-Shapes have sloped inside flanges, While HP or H Shapes are more equal in the depth to flange width, but also have thicker flanges than typical and can be commonly found for driving shoring and piles around bridge construction or for pile caps beneath buildings. H-Shapes that you may see for building columns are most likely the Wide Flange (W) column sections, which are more economical for their use.

Difference in terminology though, while you may say "Shape" because of the way it looks, may not necessarily be the "Section" type in which it is used or specified.

Eitherway,.. Thanks for sharing the pictures, that's an impressive section. Biggest beam I've specified was a W36x529, which is actually 39 3/4" deep because the flanges are so thick. At 529 lbs per lineal foot, and it was 45 feet long! Largest column was for Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, which was a W14x342. The fabricator cut a 1 1/2" section of it for me which I have here in my office.

Rob Schaffer, P.E.

 

[Trapper John]

That actually looks like a "W" shape. Yes, I said W. I don't know the history of why they give them the designation of W, but they do. There are two main different types of beams....w shapes, and s shapes. W's have parallel flanges and the S's have sloped flanges

The pictures are of plate girders, fabricated from, you guessed it, plate. Generally, you can't get a hot rolled section from a mill greater than 36" deep (sometimes 40"), so if you need a greater section depth, you go with a plate girder.

The "W" designation means wide flange, btw.


Trapper John

 

[EdFred]

Thanks Rob,


Most of what I dealt with was pretty benign. 8x31 or 8x35 for columns, maybe some 12 x 65 or 87 and a couple 14" here and there, and a lot of 18s and 24s for the beams.

I never had any that big come across my desk. 36" deep sure, but not at 529lb/ft. And it's not the biggest 36" shape they've got.

http://www.structural-drafting-net-expert.com/steel-sections-i-beam-w-shape-dimensions.html


And we certainly never did the 44" sections.

 

[Lawreston]

Thanks, guys. I didn't get to examine the arse end close-up because security had me move my vehicle so the rig could back his load. Then I walked across the bridge to get a better angle and the other security let me go beyond the barriers for better photo angle.
At 70,000 pounds and 120 feet length, that figures to be 583.333 lbs. per linear foot. Amongst the next 11 I-beams to arrive, some will be longer, though smaller in scale and tonnage; those to be used as cross-members(my terminology), et cetera, as it was explained to me.

HR

I'll post some additional photos, later.

 

[Lawreston]

It would appear that "second type" would be the answer(photo #3). The builder, Reed & Reed, is headquartered about ten miles from here. They also seem to have a lock on construction in the wind power generator farms, having bought two 400 ton massive cranes for use in erecting the big towers and just getting another wind farm contract:
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/newsupdate.php?updates/maine-contractor-to-build-mass-wind-farm

HR

When I drove over the present bridge on Thursday there was a 2nd 70,000 lb., 120' I-beam sitting on the barge(no photo). 140,000 lbs. total and the barge didn't appear to be sitting a bit lower in the water.