Could earthquakes on San Andreas Fault be stopped by driving huge steel piles deep into bedrock on either side of fault and welding huge cross beams, thereby anchoring ever north moving Pacific Plate to more stable North American Plate?

No. Imagine you are floating a large thin cookie on a lake of milk. When you went to move the cookie it fractured. For some reason, you decided to mend the fracture using staples. Now remember, you’re really good at mending cookies with staples, so it is a good fix. The problem is that when …

Why do we consider the steel strength critical in finding the strength of any RCC member?

While I like the different answers let me try this a bit more simply: Concrete is very strong in compression. Such as placing a block of it on the ground and setting a large weight on it. Concrete is comparatively weak in tension. Treat it like a rope or chain and breaks easily. Bending, which …

How do you mitigate autogenous shrinkage in concrete?

Depending on your use, you use separation and control joints. There are a lot of guides available that cover this subject, but it can vary quite a bit depending on use, thickness and available friction surface. Most guides will call for roughly rectangular pieces. Slabs tend towards 1:2 to 1:4 ratios on width to length. …

Theoretically, if PZT applied to an elastomer substrate (see attached) were affixed to trees, what might be the potential output of, say, a 50ft pine with approx. 10sq.ft. of PZT ribbon in average conditions?

In average conditions, I would expect near zero potential. Wind tends to be periodic, or very low. What you need are at least two conditions: 1. regular wind. 2. flutter. So, coastal areas or very large open areas (think great plains or ocean surface) with little height variation would work best. One problem is that …

Theoretically, could a Mine Clearing Line Charge be used to demolish buildings?

Theoretically; yes. But, it would be far from the best option. Mine clearing explosives give a large push at a distance so that mines in the blast area receive enough pressure to trigger. Building demolition is about cutting (shearing) pressures that stay precisely in their intended area to reduce any unintended results. In short, its …

Is it true that wooden skyscrapers are ultimately stronger than steel skyscrapers?

No, wood is not stronger than steel for skyscrapers. This point comes up from time to time resulting in analyses done with individual wood fibers. The result is that in a number of species of wood the fibers have comparable tensile strength to mild steels. A lot of people took away from this that wood …

How are bridges and/or tunnels that go over or in water maintained?

In rare cases, they are constructed of corrosion-resistant materials. But for the most part, they are painted to limit and slow corrosion. Where corrosion does occur, the material is stripped down to the base material, cleaned of the corrosion, and repainted. The process is repeated over the life of the structure. The frequency is usually …