SGER: Damage Investigation and Data Collection for Collapsed I-35W Bridge

这项探索性研究小额拨款（SGER）项目将派遣一个调查小组前往明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯市密西西比河上35W州际高速公路（I-35W）大桥的现场，该大桥于2007年8月1日星期三在高峰时段的交通中在几秒钟内坍塌。市中心一座公路桥的倒塌预计会给我们的社会带来巨大的后果。任务是收集摄影资料和获取易腐烂的材料。该项目的结果将为工程师提供宝贵的数据，以便在未来几年进行更详细的研究。这个SGER项目是确定I-35W大桥倒塌原因的关键一步，并向社会保证，将采取措施大幅降低此类悲剧重演的风险。该项目解决了美国社会目前面临的一个重大而紧迫的问题。该项目是土木工程领域的研究人员重新评估美国桥梁的安全性和可靠性，从而重新获得社会信任的重要一步。考虑到桥梁在国民经济和日常生活中所起的重要作用，以及这场悲剧造成的巨大公众痛苦，研究的目标对我们社会的福祉至关重要。pi将尽最大努力将这项研究的结果广泛传达给工程界，并将研究结果整合到下一代工程师的教育中。

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) project will send an investigation team to the site of the bridge carrying Interstate Highway 35W (I-35W) over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota which collapsed on Wednesday, August 1, 2007, in the main span within a matter of seconds while carrying rush hour traffic. The collapse of a highway bridge in a major downtown area is expected to have tremendous consequences to our society. The tasks are to collect photographic data and to procure perishable material.The results from the project will provide engineers with valuable data to conduct more detailed studies in the coming years. This SGER project is a crucial step towards identifying the causes of the I-35W Bridge collapse, and to assure the society that measures will be taken to substantially reduce the risk that such a tragedy will be repeated. The project addresses a major and immediate problem that the U.S. society currently faces. This project is an important step for researchers in the Civil Engineering field to reassess the safety and reliability of bridges in the U.S. and to thereby regain the trust of society. Considering the important role that bridges play in the economy and daily life of the national population, and considering the substantial public distress caused by the tragedy, the objectives of the research are crucial to the well-being of our society. The PIs will make their best effort to convey the findings from this research widely to the engineering community, and to integrate the findings to educate the next generation of engineers.