Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering

Paul A. Bosela

Preference :

This is a special publication of the Education Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE). It was first published in 1995 as Failures in Civil Engineering: Structural, Foundation, and Geoenvironmental Case Studies edited by Robin Shepherd and J. David Frost. Forensic Engineering is the application of engineering principles to the investigation of failures or other performance problems. The investigations may involve testimony on the findings before a court of law or another judicial forum when required. Failures include not only catastrophic events, such as bridge and building collapses, but also failures of facilities or components to perform as intended by the owner, design professional, or constructor. ASCE authorized TCFE in July 1985 following a number of dramatic collapses of engineered structures, such as the Hartford Coliseum, Kemper Arena, and the Hyatt Regency Walkways. The purpose of TCFE is to develop practices and procedures to reduce the number of such failures, to disseminate information on failures and their causes, to provide guidelines for conducting failure investigations, and to provide guidelines for ethical conduct in forensic engineering. It is the purpose of TCFE’s Education Committee to promote the study of failure case histories in educational activities. Thus, the committee works to promote and advance the educational objectives of colleges and universities and act as a source of referral for educational material with a forensic engineering emphasis.