Analysis of Causes of Failure and Collapse of the 305-Meter Telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico

波多黎各阿雷西博天文台305米望远镜故障及倒塌原因分析

• 批准号: 2135084
• 负责人: Cameron Oskvig
• 金额: $ 55万
• 依托单位: National Academy of Sciences
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-15 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2135084&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Analysis; Causes; Failure; Collapse; 305

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment (BICE), will convene an ad hoc study committee to conduct an independent assessment of the December 2020 failure and collapse of the 305-Meter Telescope at the NSF-supported Arecibo Observatory in Barrio Esperanza, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. On December 1, 2020 the 305-meter telescope at the Arecibo Observatory suffered a catastrophic failure, which resulted in the collapse and destruction of the 900-ton platform and supporting tower structures. This followed the loss of an auxiliary cable which pulled away from its connector at Tower 4 on August 10,2020, and a main cable failure on same tower on November 6, 2020. The auxiliary cables were added in the 1990's to support the added weight of the Gregorian dome. Details and video of the December 2020 event, as well as an engineering summary prepared before the collapse, can be found at the following web site: https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/arecibo/. The NASEM study committee will issue a report explaining the contributing factors and probable cause(s) of the failure and recommendations for measures to prevent similar damage to other scientific research facilities in the future. At the end of the twelve-month study, the committee will issue a single NASEM report, which will be available on the NASEM web site, that will present the committee's analysis, findings, and recommendations.The eight-member NASEM study committee will assess the environmental, physical, and design considerations for the Arecibo facility as well as administrative or management practices that may have been contributing factors to the December 2020 failure. The committee's report will provide insight on the performance of tensioned-cable structures under multi-hazard environmental and loading conditions, such as corrosion, creep, and the recent hurricane and earthquake events in Puerto Rico. The study will also identify actions and best practices for consideration to limit or prevent other large facility damage or failure. It will also assess oversight and management policies and practices that may have been contributing factors to the failure, including contractor selection and procurement during construction and repair, maintenance planning and oversight, inspection, and structural review. Drawing from this analysis, the committee's study report may have implications for establishing best practices for oversight and response actions for the physical condition, integrity, and function, including end of design life considerations, for NSF-supported scientific research facilities and may provide insight into decision processes for major recapitalization of older, or beyond design-life, research infrastructure still serving scientific purpose.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

美国国家科学院，工程和医学院（NASEM），基础设施和建筑环境委员会（BICE）将召集一个特设研究委员会，对2020年12月在波多黎各阿雷西博Barrio Esperanza的NSF支持的阿雷西博天文台的305米望远镜的故障和崩溃进行独立评估。2020年12月1日，阿雷西博天文台的305米望远镜发生灾难性故障，导致900吨的平台和支撑塔结构倒塌和破坏。这是继2020年8月10日辅助电缆从4号塔的连接器中拔出后的损失，以及2020年11月6日同一塔的主电缆故障。辅助电缆是在20世纪90年代添加的，以支撑格里高利圆顶增加的重量。 2020年12月事件的细节和视频，以及坍塌前准备的工程摘要，可以在以下网站上找到：https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/arecibo/。 NASEM研究委员会将发布一份报告，解释故障的促成因素和可能原因，并建议采取措施，防止未来对其他科学研究设施造成类似损害。 在为期12个月的研究结束时，委员会将发布一份NASEM报告，该报告将在NASEM网站上提供，该报告将介绍委员会的分析，调查结果和建议。由八名成员组成的NASEM研究委员会将评估环境，物理，Arecibo设施的设计考虑因素以及可能导致12月2020失败该委员会的报告将提供有关多危害环境和负载条件下，如腐蚀，蠕变，以及最近在波多黎各的飓风和地震事件的张拉索结构的性能的见解。该研究还将确定行动和最佳做法，以供考虑，限制或防止其他大型设施的损坏或故障。它还将评估可能导致失败的监督和管理政策和做法，包括施工和维修期间的承包商选择和采购，维护规划和监督，检查和结构审查。根据这一分析，委员会的研究报告可能会对建立最佳实践产生影响，这些实践包括NSF支持的科学研究设施的物理状况，完整性和功能的监督和响应行动，包括设计寿命结束的考虑因素，并可能为旧的重大资本重组决策过程提供见解，或超过设计寿命，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。