Great Engineering Disasters Flashcards
Tacoma’s Narrows Bridge
Resonance - The increase in amplitude of oscillation of an electric or mechanical system exposed to a periodic force whose frequency is equal or very close to the natural undamped frequency of the system.
Teton Dam Failure
Breach - A gap or rift, especially in or as if in a solid structure such as a dike or fortification.
Erosion - material is worn away from the earth’s surface.
Settlement of the soil, and seepage were found to be the main causes of the failure.
Korar Bridge
Increasing Deflection - The movement of a structure or structural part as a result of stress.
Stress - An applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body.
Champlain Towers South - Surfside Collapse
Concrete disintegration of the foundation under the pool deck & parking garage under the 13-story unit building.
Snellville Billboards
Hooks Law/Newtons Law – In order for an object to remain in equilibrium, it must push back with the same force as being applied to it.
New World Hotel
Failure to follow building codes.
Corruption of the governmental bodies issuing permits.
Materials could not bare the load.
Silver City Bridge Failure
Failure of pin suspension system.
Bicycle chain idea; if one fails, the entire system fails
Quebec Bridge
“A grave error was made in assuming the dead load for the calculations at too low a value…This error was of sufficient magnitude to have required the condemnation of the bridge, even if the details of the lower chords had been of sufficient strength.”
Dead load (Dead weight) - The unrelieved weight of a heavy, motionless mass.
Chord - A line segment that joins two points on a curve.
Iran Stadium
The load exceeded capacity of the structure.
Hooks Law/Newtons Law.
Walkway Collapse
The change in design increased the load from 90 kN to 181 kN on the individual bolt. doubled the load, exceeded the capacity on the nut.
Example of conflicting engineers. Too many chefs spoil the soup!
Mianus River Bridge Collapse
Pin failure: Corrosion-dissolution of bodies, either by an acid or a saline menstruum.
Infrequent inspection.
Tay Bridge
“The fall of the bridge was occasioned by the insufficiency of the cross bracing and its fastenings to sustain the force of the gale.”
Wind forces
Inspection problems
Vector - A force or influence.
Sunshine Skyway Bridge Collapse
Poor planning
Traffic on Tampa Bay
Should be designed to withstand the potential of a collision with a vessel
South Fork Dam Collapse
Poor Planning: The water exceeded the level of the dam. Once the water level rose to that height, it cut through the earthen dam like a knife.
Saturated the material.
Water permeated the material.
Arroyo Pasajero Bridge
Scour ; to carry away or remove, as by a current of water; – often with off or away
Footings need to go to the bedrock.
Bedrock: solid un-weathered rock lying beneath surface deposits of soil
