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On the evening of August 1st, 2007, the I-35W bridge in downtown Minneapolis suddenly collapsed killing 13 people. The National Transportation Safety Board has already published their conclusions stating that the collapse was mainly attributed to under designed gusset plates at the U10 connections. The FHWA was invited by NTSB as an active participant in the investigation along with Mn/DOT. FHWA’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) assisted with the recovery efforts, material characterization, and finite element modeling. This presentation will present some of the results attained by TFHRC investigations. Discussion will mainly revolve around the nonlinear finite element modeling in regards to the calibration, load history, and possible causes of failure.

Justin Ocel has a diverse research background working on shape-memory alloys in steel moment frame connections to fatigue of sign and signal poles subjected to wind-induced vibration. Dr. Ocel has been integrally involved with the forensic investigations of the Boston I-90 Connector Tunnel Ceiling collapse and the Minneapolis I-35W bridge collapse along with the ultra-high performance concrete program.