February 23, 2005 and March 5, 2005: Part of the bearing story
What keeps the deck from crashing into the inner faces of each pylon?
A bearing, of course. But how is the deck moved to insert the bearing?
Hydraulic jacks, shims and a lot of skill.
Before the big squeeze,
Resting in the Navy Yard Warehouse
With a little encouragement from a jack like this (but in a different
orientation), the deck is pushed away from the pylon face. And then
after insertion, the big squeeze
Today (March 5) I actually watched moving the deck with these hydraulic
jacks. Here is the array of hydraulic jacks wedged between the north
face of the east pylon and the deck edge girder.
What is the story behind moving the deck. Wilbur Poole, a 21 year veteran
iron worker and hydraulic expert is part of
the team engaged in the jacking process. He mans the controls for pumping
hydraulic fluid into the jacks. Others on the team add shims.
When all is stable, each
feedline contains fluid at a pressure of 84,000 psi
Here is the setup and part of the team.
The rest of the team is between the deck and the
pylon face (being coached by Peo and colleagues (right))
Here is the inside man (left) and the outside man (right) signalling the
fork lift operator
Here some of the shims are being removed
And here is a bearing in position (this was on the west deck, north side)
