quote:

---

How much vertical deflection would 10,000 of these cause?


About 6" vertically or so?

---

Oh lawd

quote:

---

quote:

---

^
To that point, there's no harm in issuing a brief statement for SEZ ticket holders that there's some bounce in the steel and its fine, or else reviewing it now that the construction is gearing up again.

There was a message in the old pressbox media packets about the "sway" during the war hymn. Might as well nip this in the bud early on.

---

Completely agree. Commentators always complain how scary it is up in the pressbox but at least they're expecting it. As long as the structural integrity of the South endzone is ok there's no need to do anything drastic just simply let people know they're gonna move

---

I've been in the chancellors box during the 3rd to 4th quarter war hymn sway, and it's not that bad. It's a disturbing feeling no doubt, like random earthquake tremors coming up through your feet but you know it's coming. A little bounce in the steel won't worry anyone if there are a couple signs that say to expect it scattered along the front rail.

It would prevent a lot of emails come Sunday.

quote:

---

quote:

---

How much vertical deflection would 10,000 of these cause?


About 6" vertically or so?

---

Oh lawd

---

It's a very valid question.

This thread worth reading?

Who was the structural engineering firm on the project? As a PE who worked on a few NFL/NBA/college stadiums, that is disturbing. I pay attention to deflection and vibration professionally. I perceive things most people don't notice. When regular people get concerned, it's already generally a failure.

The 136 BPM is a little out of the normal human excitation frequency. If there is a natural frequency (i.e. Galloping Gertie) issue, then luckily the "yuck" factor will stop the excitation before the movement is too much. But still... Yuck!

Also, stop playing sandstorm.

The amount of deflection shown in TexasAggie_02's video and as described by the OP and others is a definite concern. It would be nice to know what dynamic loads were used to analyze the South Zone structure and if the deflections are within the allowable limits for Safety. I bring this up because I believe the Kansas City Hilton "Suspension Walkway" failure was exacerbated by people jumping vertically to the beat of holiday music and causing a harmonic motion which along with the unauthorized design changes hastened the collapse of the Walkway with a serious loss of life. My recollection is that the Investigation, in the aftermath, showed that the unauthorized design changes (to the suspension system structure) effected during construction were the main culprit but also that dynamic loads due to people jumping up and down were not part of the loading conditions considered in the original design. The solution was to get rid of the suspension system altogether and support the Walkway from below with reinforced concrete pillars.

For the South Zone this could be a very serious issue and should be checked out. As Mr. Fry says we don't need to panic. If these loads and deflections were considered and are within the allowable nothing may need to be done other than a warning to the fans to expect some flex in the structure. If not within the allowable sometimes easy engineering fixes can be effected such as increasing the stiffness or mass of the structure. But the time to do it is now while the West Side is under construction and before any mishap could occur.

I appreciate this thread.

quote:

---

Structural engineer here, Texas PE. With something like 6 minutes left in the LSU game, fans began bouncing in unison to music. I began to feel vertical movement in the 7th row of the south end second deck in synch with the bouncing of the fans. I could see substantial movement of the lower edge (1st row, which is the end of a cantilever truss structure) of the second deck, where it extends out over the upper part of the first deck. The dynamic movement was vertical, I estimate the deflection was at least several inches. Video analysis should be able to determine the actual movement. The differential movement was visibly evident between my location closer to the fixed end of the truss and the cantilever end of the structure. The seating deck is precast concrete which provides good horizontal diaphragm stiffness, but the vertical support structure is steel, specifically a horizontal steel truss structure back to the vertical steel structure at the concourse. The concrete is just mass as far as vertical movement is concerned, and, if near the natural frequency of the structure, movement can amplify increasingly if the forcing function continues, similar to the dynamic response of bridge structures. Fans noticed and stopped bouncing. Had the bouncing continued at the frequency of the music, deflection could have continued to increase, as it had been. The analysis and design of the south endzone structure for dynamic loading should be reviewed.

---

Pls follow through with letter. No BS this is the kind of thing that should be looked into.

Solution to the problem...move us Olds there, we just sit and don't yell...this will stop the movement.

Do you guys really think nobody at A&M is aware of this and they need a bunch of idiots from the Zoo on Texags to make them aware? This thread went full retard right out of the gates.

quote:

---

Solution to the problem...move us Olds there, we just sit and don't yell...this will stop the movement.

---

Would be a very efficient solution indeed

quote:

---

Do you guys really think nobody at A&M is aware of this and they need a bunch of idiots from the Zoo on Texags to make them aware? This thread went full retard right out of the gates.

---

I can think of several situations, and one in particular, where people assumed higher ups had all the details and were fully informed. Unfortunately and sadly that was not the case.
As has been stated, when several PEs raise the question, much less people in the stands who don't have the engineering knowledge but don't feel quite right about the movement, then someone should be sure this gets surfaced. The time to mitigate risk is before an accident.

So WTF?! I read this whole thread. Has A&M been notified?!

Bueller.......

Bueller?

It was a Manhattan project. What could go wrong?

Why don't you notify the administration?

A bunch of guys who say they're PEs, without offering any proof of their credentials.

quote:

---

A bunch of guys who say they're PEs, without offering any proof of their credentials.

---

That's fine, like the new poster who registered who claims to be t june melton. Of course it could be someone pretending to be him, but I personally have no reason to believe it not to be, but I can understand your skepticism. You can find his credentials here: http://www.amstarengineeringinc.com/history.html

I'll take some other Ags at their word

quote:

---

A bunch of guys who say they're PEs, without offering any proof of their credentials.

---

quote:

---

All I can say is tell the admin. to get some skilled outsside engineers in there immediately and there could be a possible lawsuit soon..
T. June Melton, PE

---

http://www.amstarengineeringinc.com/history.html

quote:

---

The company president, Mr. T. June Melton PE, BS ArE, MSE, has over 35 years experience as a licensed professional engineer. He is currently licensed to practice in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Louisiana, Georgia, Colorado, Mississippi, Utah, North Carolina and Kentucky. He is also eligible to become licensed as a professional engineer in additional states through the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying.

---

Reading fail much?

quote:

---

A bunch of guys who say they're PEs, without offering any proof of their credentials.

---

Or discuss any actual failure modes of concern.... Just constant complaints that "it deflects to much"

I would assume the West side is going to be built in a similar manner. More people, more deflection?

quote:

---

Why don't you notify the administration?

---

some on this thread have notified admin and never received a response

quote:

---

quote:

---

Why don't you notify the administration?

---

some on this thread have notified admin and never received a response

---

someone should notify deadspin

It would be easier to just email Philip Ray at the chancellors office. I'm 99.5% sure that it's fine as is, but a couple signs explaining there's a natural bounce in the section would eliminate ongoing threads like this and recurring emails to the chancellors office after every game.

pray@tamus.edu

This was not a 'natural' bounce

quote:

---

It was a Manhattan project. What could go wrong?

---

What you did there, I saw it.

Thanks for you input Magnum Load. YOu soung like you know what you are talking about,and lost me real quick.
Please address this to the proper authoritiesl

quote:

---

I would assume the West side is going to be built in a similar manner. More people, more deflection?

---

Depends on the stiffness/mass ratio..,,spacing of the supports etc.

quote:

---

Depends on the stiffness/mass ratio..,,

---

magnumload can answer that question

quote:

---

quote:

---

Depends on the stiffness/mass ratio..,,

---

magnumload can answer that question

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

I would assume the West side is going to be built in a similar manner. More people, more deflection?

---

Depends on the stiffness/mass ratio..,,spacing of the supports etc.

---

I figure it just depends on the ratio of Old Army vs New Army who don't bounce or jump during Sandstorm

quit worrying about the deflection and enjoy the ride

I have season tickets in the 5th row of the third deck of the SEZ this season. My father, sister, and I have felt slight motion at various times throughout the year. In previous years when sitting in the north end zone row 16, I felt what i perceived to be motion as well. So motion itself is not that noteworthy.

During Sandstorm late in the LSU game, that was the first time I have ever visually seen the 2nd deck gallop, bounce, dynamically deflect, whatever you want to call the up down motion. It was very evident, and I am sticking to my 6-12" of motion estimate. Folks around us were all noticing and commenting on how much movement there was. My sister compared it to a diving board at one point. The motion was noteworthy enough that I got out my phone to try to capture it on video. The motion was in sync with the rhythm of the music and jumping and was getting progressively bigger until folks stopped jumping etc. They stopped mid song, and before play on the field had resumed. It appeared to us that many were stopping because of the degree of motion, but that is obviously speculation on my part.

I can't speak to any of the other folks in this thread or the other threads on the topic as to what they have done or not done. I also know what I don't know, and I don't know structures so i don't know if the amount of motion I witnessed is even an issue at all.

In the event it actually is an issue, I have sent the multiple threads on the topic here at texags, as well as a dropbox link to download the original video I captured (since youtube compresses it and modifies it some) to a couple people at the university who can get the material in the right hands.

It is also a holiday weekend so i hold no illusion as to even getting a simple "Thanks for your inquiry" type response. Because of the nature of the issue, I also dont expect that if the university does look into it, finds nothing, or finds something and takes action, that we would ever hear anything about it as fans.

Just my two cents.

http://sem-proceedings.com/25i/sem.org-IMAC-XXV-s36p01-Analysis-Coordinated-Crowd-Vibration-Levels-Stadium-Structure.pdf

Fairly enlightening article for those that know how to read here.