Recent content by TimSmall

The engineer has implied (but has not yet confirmed - even when explicitly asked by email) that the intention of the plate is to evenly distribute the load evenly over its 330x100 area. They have explicitly said by email that the location and orientation of the plate should be as pictured in...

Hmm, illustrative files didn't attach properly the first time, let's try again...

OK, how about we consider some hypothetical extreme cases, which have some relation to the problem. If we assume: 1. The steel beam and plate do not deflect. 2. The masonry is slightly compressible (and uniformly compressible), and for the sake of argument only in the vertical direction. 3...

I'd be extremely happy to do that, but I'd really like to try and satisfy my doubts about the bearing plate orientation first. In the video I made, the plate starts to rotate about the end of the beam when under load. I'm quite prepared to believe that this wouldn't be an issue in the...

Sorry, I didn't wish to cause offence, I was working my way through the comments, and hadn't yet replied your second comment (although I did just get in there with a response to your first before you posted the one above)!

I share your doubts about the allowable bearing pressure onto the masonry wall (unless the stub wall is rebuilt) - and that information is very useful as the wall itself is about 60 miles from London in Brighton, and made from similarly naff old bricks with poor mortar. Setting that aside for...

I had a feeling that if it was unrestrained, then under load the plate might rotate about the end of the beam when a load was introduced (since the beam is bearing on less than 50% of the plate, but the reaction to the plate is over 100% of the length). I've since done an experiment which seems...

The design calls for no bolting or welding - from the bottom up there is, unreinforced on this a mortar bed, then the steel plate (just bedded on the mortar, no other connections to the masonry), then the I beam sits on that. The engineer refers to it as a "spreader plate", stating: "All...

I'm doing some work on my house at the moment, and have had a design produced by a structural engineer for a steel I-beam to span a newly made (4 meter) opening in a brick wall. They've given me a design (see the attached picture for my interpretation) for the bearing of the I-beam which I...

A question of momentum... Ahh, that makes sense. Strangely enough, I did have the idea of mounting the LEDs at the centre of a mirror, and then mounting a fixed mirror on the side of the tank, with the vague feeling that it'd get more energy out... Oh well, could have been worse - I could...

[SOLVED] Light propelled toy boat? Hi, I was wondering if it would be possible to to produce an LED propelled model boat - no practical application, just a toy. I think it would be possible to make a boat using something on the order of 3 high-power LEDs, with a small lithium based...