European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 18, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Engineers fix original defects in the statue of Liber by Calvin Sims new York times r restoration o11he statue of Liberty has reached the hallway Mark and engineers Are convinced 1hey have solved he major problems i hey faced when they began in project they have replaced the corroded name and Torch patched the lip of Liberty s nose and cleaned the weather beaten exterior. Wore important however they have corrected the defects in the statue s supporting Structure that led 10 us Chlori oration. We found ii was t just a Mailer of cosmetics said Edward Cohen a managing partner of Ammann and Whitney the consulting engineers Lor the Resi oration project. We just could t buy her a new dress and Dao on some new makeup. We had to fix her internal  deterioration of the supporting Structure of the statue has Long been attributed to its Long Vigil in fierce wind Fain and pollution of new York Harbor where i has welcomed immigrants to a new life in America Ever since ii was erected in 1886 As a Gill from the people of Franca. Bui alter detailed analysis engineers now say that Many of he Moat serious structural problems Are not the result of the statue s advancing years but Rathet of defects it Tho original design and  head and shoulder Sli Dute of the aim Hasie been plagued with problems Ever since the statue was reeled Cohen said and Lhasa problems arc Pamir due to the misalignment of the head and Arm during the original construction. The head is two reel Oil Canter and the Arm was moved in inches away from the body. The Shilt in the Arm forced workmen to conned the shoulder to a Efferent area of the supporting Structure than he Lalue s Engineer the lamed Gustave Eiffel had originally intended. Eiffel had planned to rest the weight of the Arm on the joints of the supporting Structure where in would have been borne completely by the Central Pylon. Instead the shoulder was joined to a Middle area of the lower s bars where the Load was not transferred directly to the Tower and thus created High stresses. In addition Loose framework in the statue s head caused it to Lill 10 the right puncturing the Arm with one of the spikes in the Crown. The Russ in Ine Taluc s right shoulder had seriously weakened and was in danger of collapse. And almost Hall of the Iron armature thai supports the Copper skin had corroded in part because the statue had become in effect Al giant Battery. These structural Haws Are nol the result of poor engineering but merely reflect the constraints of the Besl engineering of Hillel s Day. In fact modern engineers say in they had to build the statue Ataw they would change Only the materials used in the cons Duclion of the Stii Lue. And nol Eillce s design. Today s engineers Are faced however with a new constr nine because this is a historic project preservation. Nol replace men is the goal. Some of the remedies arc tally easy. For example. He Spike that poked the Arm has been shortened. But other flaws such As the weakened shoulder have required sonata detailed analysis of determine How Best to Cortezi them to Deal with the discontinuities in the statue s head engineers Aro strengthening ii with additional supports. The head is composed of a series of Arches that Circle from he front to the Back of the neck these Arches Are banded together by several rings. Many of these Arches had moved out of place making supports in the Tower flexible. Engineers came up with two schemes to repair the Tallering shoulder. In one scheme additional supports would Hove been added to the shoulder allowing it to function As a pure truss. In the second scheme the existing shoulder would have been removed and replaced with a new Russ. In medical terms one plan was to Pul in splints and strengthen in and the Kihei plan was to put in a new prosthesis Cohen said. Tha engineers we Uncertain which of the two plans would Besl Correct she problem so they developed both. Aller they performed a dynamic analysis on the Lalue a it of determine How the Structure would read to the stress of environment loads due to wind they discovered that both plans worked equally Well. N keeping wish the historic nature of lha project Rhey chose the plan that strengthened the original members of the shoulder the shoulder was previously reinforced in 1932 because of sir Clura problems. The most serious internal problem with the statue and one that entails the most extensive repair tic,1, is corrosion of the Iron armature that supports ils Copper skin engineers said. The skin is Aboul one tenth of an Inch thick the thickness of one and a half Penna and cannot support itself. I is attached to Tow Airo Alun by 1,500 a shaped Copper saddles. The armature tits in the we of the a and the Saddle is riveted to the this intricate design of the skin and armature allows both pieces to move operate by. Freeing ins skin to breathe independently from the main support framework much like a person breathes with the Lite moving Back and Lorth. This design is similar to the. Modern curtain Wall conc Rullon that is now used for the outside Walls of Many skyscrapers. Tha corrosion thai had so seriously weakened to skin s structural connections is the result of a a Jmc reaction caused by the meeting of the Copper and the meals. If you Pul Iron and Copper together Wilh a lit moisture. You get a  Cohen Sato. Trace sol Asbestos and leather insulation were found on if saddles an indication that Early engineers at Temple Page 14 the stars and stripes