Research Needs in Hydraulics, Coastal Engineering and Irrigation
Last June an ASCE/NSF team gathered at Warrenton, Va., to prioritize research needs in civil engineering. They split the field into 10 subcategories, one of which is Hydraulics, Coastal...
Basics in Failure Analysis of Large Structures
Failure analysis procedures can usually determine the most probalbe cause of a structural failure. Then it is possible to determine why the initial design, materials selection, and fabrication...
Part Two: Basics in Failure Analysis of Large Structures
Part two of a article, with part one appearing in May, 1980. Part two begins with microscopic examination which includes the use of scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Covers...
Reducing Failures During Earthquakes
There are common building design and structural errors that result in unnecessary building failures during earthquakes. The failures are the result of design errors, changes and economies...
Winter Roof Collapses: Bad Luck or Bad Design�
An overview of the collapses in 1978 and 1979 in Chicago and in the Northeast shows that, in most instances, the design codes are adequate. Designers, however, have not paid sufficient...
Current Trends in Design and Construction of Embankment Dams
This report is concerned primarily with the embankment itself although foundation and abutment treatment are considered essential elements of the embankment. It covers a broad range of...
Guide to Investigation of Structural Failures
This guide contains a broad range of instructions and suggestions regarding structural failures. Topics include failure causes by project type, failure causes by structural type, failure...
Behavioral Factors in Selection of Technologies
Where a well-known technology is provided to a population that has long been acquainted with its use, the problems of predicting patterns of social behavior are relatively simple. The...
$70 Million for Dam Inspection
In 1972, Congress passed the National Dam Inspection Act, requiring the U.S. Corps of Engineers to inspect and inventory all dams in the United States; but few dams were inspected. Then...
Major Cause of Earthquake Damage is Ground Failure
Ground failure is one of the most destructive effects of large earthquakes. For example, about 60% of the damage during the 1964 Alaska earthquake was a consequence of ground failure....
Germany, Belgium and Los Angeles have Mandatory Design Review for Major Structures
The report of the engineering investigation into the causes of the collapse of the Hartford Coliseum space truss cited design deficiencies as the cause of failure. That report also says...
Vibroreplacement and Reinforced Earth Unite to Strengthen a Weak Foundation
Two relatively new engineering concepts in the U.S. were successfully used to solve a difficult soils problem. A highway skirting Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille was built on a...
The Field Engineer: Political and Legal Scapegoat�
The publicly-employed engineer can be in a vulnerable legal position. A case history is described in which a field engineer was indicted on criminal charges after a bridge collapse (during...
Teton Dam Failure
In June 1976, Teton Dam in Idaho failed. It was an earthfill dam 305 ft high. It failed by piping through the impermeable core of the dam. Among factors believed contributing to failure:...
Why Do Bridges Fail�
From the study of 143 bridge failures that occurred throughout the world from 1847 to 1975, it is found that there are nine categories of failure. The most frequent of these is failure...
The Evaluation of Dam Safety
Proceedings of the Engineering Foundation Conference on the Evaluation of Dam Safety, held in the Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California, November 28 December 3, 1976....
Structural Failures and How to Prevent Them
Reducing failures of buildings and other structures requires compentent design; clear communication of that design to the contractor by means of engineering drawings, etc.; careful and...
Experts Critique the Olympic Structures of Montreal
At a panel discussion held recently in Montreal, a number of prominent architects and engineers critiqued the Montreal Olympic structures. Unlike some previous press reports, the blame...
Designing More Reliable Waste Treatment Plants
In the past, many municipal waste treatment plants have not operated reliably. A 1969 Federal Water Pollution Control Administration Study, for instance, showed that 25% of 1500 plants...
Civil Engineering History Gives Valuable Lessons
Many students, and others, feel the study of engineering history is a frill. Not so, this article suggests. A study of the past can give an engineer better ideas on how to solve a new...
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