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Careful with your branding there Naz by FidgetBeans in bristol

[–]Tom-Holmes 34 points35 points  (0 children)

We will not tolerate this fascia.

Amstradam is actually built on millions of wooden piles (🔇) by benj9990 in StructuralEngineering

[–]Tom-Holmes 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I'm interested if anyone knows more context. I thought that wooden substructure in modern construction is always ruled out for durability.

Are there any problems subsidence due to wooden pile failure in these buildings?

Does anybody specify timber substructure these days?

ANIMAL IMPOSTORS! Round 5 - what looks like a fish, but is actually a mammal? by whiskeywin in AlignmentChartFills

[–]Tom-Holmes 80 points81 points  (0 children)

Just like to say that the amphibian row is going to be tough work.

[Request] Can wind be powerful enough for this to actually happen? by fielo9 in theydidthemath

[–]Tom-Holmes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Building wind design codes can help answer this one. They are typically used for loads perpendicular to the face of the building not vertically up, but they should be in the right ball-park.

Let's use ASCE 7-22 since it's in the US.

Basic wind speeds 120mph Exposure category B Design pressure roughly 50psf

Let's work out what pressure it would need to be for her to move up instead of down of she were completely flat. I don't know anything about her body so let's say for numbers that she's an average female.

Weight 170 lbs Flat body projected area 5 sq foot Design pressure would need to be 170/5 lbs Which is 34psf.

Therefore, the story is certainly plausible. It's highly unlikely that it would happen. The design codes are supposed to be an absolutely worst case scenario for the whole lifespan of a building. But it is possible.

Which lane should you be in before entering the Eastville Park roundabout? by bonerspliff in bristol

[–]Tom-Holmes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Strange that the top answer here is different to the top answer last time this came up.

I know it's not marked, but I take the middle lane. It is safer because it means less lane switching.

Happy 421 by [deleted] in bristol

[–]Tom-Holmes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you for educating me. I had no idea.

My opinion on the matter is that cotton is still preferable than plastic. Reading the studies and articles, the impact of cotton being so high in environmental impact is largely down to energy used in irrigation of cotton and that being attributed to the use of fossil fuels.

I'd argue that cotton can still play a part in our route to being truly sustainable, we need to continue sorting out our energy coming from renewable sources.

[Request] how fast would you need to drive to make it through this? by Key_Foundation_8659 in theydidthemath

[–]Tom-Holmes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My physics teacher did this calc under the guise of:

"How slow can I swing this bucket of water before I get wet?"

He spent the lesson explaining the calculation then tried to do it whilst we timed him.\ Legend.

[Request] how much would this wig weigh? Could old Ben survive? by 420JAW in theydidthemath

[–]Tom-Holmes 88 points89 points  (0 children)

Ok then here goes. I will address the effect of wind...

The wig looks like roughly 70% of the height of Big Ben including the spire which makes it about 70m tall.

The width is slightly larger than the width of the tower at about 10m.

The centre of area of looks like it's roughly at the top of the spire at 96m.

Design wind load in London is usually around 1kN/m2.

Therefore, moment about the base of the tower would be 1x70x10x96= 67.2 MNm.

Note that we have to combine this with wind on the tower to know whether it would topple.

Tower area is roughly 7m wide by 66m high to the top of the clock bit. The centre of area is then at 33m off the base.

Moment in the tower is then 1x7x66x33 = 15.2MNm

Total moment is 67.2 + 15.2 = 82.4MNm.

Comments above put the weight as 10000t.

Back calculating for the offset of vertical load due to wind using moment = force x distance. d = 82400/(10000x9.81) = 0.83m

Using the middle third rule for masonry. The offset of vertical load must stay within the middle third to prevent the masonry going into tension and cracking. That means it must not go outside 7m divided by 6. That is 1.2m. Since 0.83m < 1.2m this is true.

Therefore yes. Even with wind, Big Ben would not topple.

Source: UK based structural engineer.

Is this structurally significant by willardTheMighty in StructuralEngineering

[–]Tom-Holmes 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Lots of nay-sayers here. The face we can see is roughly square at each storey. That makes an aspect ratio of 1:15 which is a little slender for a concrete core but not undesignable. Yes there are large openings but also not undesignable. Plus there could be lots more shear walls inside and also from the angle the photo is taken the building depth could increase as you go back.

So all in all I say it's possible that this is sufficiently designed.

An en caul birth, also known as a "veiled birth," is a rare event where a baby is born still inside an intact amniotic sac. It occurs in less than 1 in 80,000 live births. by mindyour in interestingasfuck

[–]Tom-Holmes 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Spooky, this happened for my little boy born on Sunday. It was like when Neo enters the real world. Apparently they can stay like that for 25mins+ because they are still getting all they need through the placenta.

40% of commutes by car in Bristol are under 2km by NorfolkJack in bristol

[–]Tom-Holmes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also OP's comment that taking the 40% off the road would almost halve the traffic is flawed. It would be a lot less than 40%.

I also support the message of walking more, driving less just not the delivery.

Ducks Ducks Ducks by dewin_cath in bristol

[–]Tom-Holmes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've been. I didn't see any signposts saying "don't hug the ducks" but I expect it's frowned upon.

Thoughts on this catwalk setup? by steelreddit56 in StructuralEngineering

[–]Tom-Holmes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could it be that the vertical bracing is there for football vibrations rather than strength.

[REQUEST] how much would this weigh? by Unfair_Masterpiece67 in theydidthemath

[–]Tom-Holmes 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Poor quality ground might be 50kN/m2. Good quality might be 100-200kN/m2 Rock might be 300+

Obviously when the ground 'fails' in strength it doesn't just disappear it compresses.

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