Swimming with Mumfords

Mumbo jumbo

 
GA will fess up; I'd never heard of the UK band Mumford and Sons until they decided to collapse  Pier A sending themselves and 15,000 concertgoers to the bottom of the Hudson. 

That's according to Hoboken411 and a swarm of hornets on Patch.

If only GA had a civil/structural engineering department to study  the impact of adding a live/dead load combo of a couple million pounds to Pier A (my guess would be 3 million) I'd have an intelligent rebuttal.

But I don't, so here's my own.

Mumbo jumbo

We all know that structural systems are designed to distribute loads and materials can be engineered to increase load-bearing strength, such as pre-stressing concrete or adding steel reinforcement.

Bla, bla, bla.

We know the types of loading that Pier A bears: dead loads- the weight of the soil, pier construction, paving, trees, lighting, benches, concrete knee walls, all of the 'stuff built on top of the pier (vertical loads) and live loads- people and their stuff (vertical loads) and water movement, wind (lateral loads).

Bla, bla, bla.

Tomorrow night, add 4 skinny Brits (600 lbs. = avg 150 lbs/Mumford) and 15,000 fans (2,500,000 lbs. = avg 167 lbs/fan) and the stage, equipment, chairs (500,000 lbs)

Please note per my calcs an American fan weighs slightly more than a skinny British Mumford.

Got that?

Now, distribute the 3 million lb. vertical live/dead load combo over the entire structural system and what have you got?

I have no idea.

Extreme mumbo jumbo

But...

Using the dimension someone posted on Patch,  Pier A is roughly 200 ft x 600 ft (120,000 sf) which may be smaller than it's actual size.   Distribute the 3,000,000 lbs. of Mumfords and fans over 120,000 sf, and your additional load is  25 lbs/square foot or 0.172 psi

NEGLIBIBLE!  I mean, that's nothing for a steel/concrete structural system supporting a whole frigging pier.

Now, I know a few real engineers out there may be laughing at me but is GA's conclusion wong?

Certainly not!

And you know it.

That's why the show is going on tomorrow night, and why the anti-Administration fear-mongering is lethally stupid.

So, if you are going have fun!

Mumord and Sons- no more than 600 lbs.

Or if you're a cheapskate like Timmy, you'll be perched on a River Street rooftop getting your Mumfords  for FREE.  

Timmy the Tightwad

Whatever it is, enjoy.