Engineering disasters

Abstract: Engineering failures get a lot of attention—inciting morbid curiosity and fueling concern over the condition of our infrastructure. But every engineering loss is the start of a forensic investigation into how, why, and what can be done to prevent future failures. As with scientific failures, engineering failures can be very instructive in teaching us what does not work. Beyond Failure presents the circumstances of important failures that have had far-reaching impacts on civil engineering practice. Each case study narrates the known facts: design and construction, the failure, subsequent investigation or analysis, and, where appropriate, additional issues such as technical concerns, ethical considerations, professional practice issues, and long-term effects. The case studies are organized around eight common topics of undergraduate engineering courses and include teaching points and a reading list, so this book is useful to engineering faculty and students. With more than 40 full cases, including the Silver Bridge collapse in Point Pleasant, WV; the levee breaches in New Orleans, LA; and the Challenger space shuttle explosion, this book will also appeal to practicing engineers with an interest in forensic investigations or the analysis of historic failures.

Abstract: This paper reviews the state of the art in the use of forensic engineering and failure case studies in civil engineering education. The study of engineering failures can offer students valuable insights into associated technical, ethical, and professional issues. Lessons learned from failures have substantially affected civil engineering practice. For the student, study of these cases can help place design and analysis procedures into historical context and reinforce the necessity of lifelong learning. Three approaches for bringing forensics and failure case studies into the civil engineering curriculum are discussed in this paper. These are stand-alone forensic engineering or failure case study courses, capstone design projects, and integration of case studies into the curriculum. Some of the cases have been developed and used in courses at the United States Military Academy and the Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as at other institutions. Finally, the writers have tried to assemble many of the known sources of material, including books, technical papers, and magazine articles, videos, Web sites, prepared PowerPoint presentations, and television programs. (150th Anniversary Paper)

Abstract: Major engineering failures act as a catalyst for change in standards of practice and therefore create the opportunity for establishing better ethical practices for the profession. When examining ethics in engineering practice, it is useful to make the distinction between ethics in engineering and ethics of engineering. Ethics in engineering deals with the ethics of actions of individual engineers. Ethics of engineering deals with ethical issues that involve the role of engineers in industry, the ethics of the organizations in which they work and of professional engineering societies, and the ethical responsibilities of the profession. This paper presents case studies of two major structural disasters—the 1907 Quebec Bridge collapse and the 1981 Kansas City, Mo. Hyatt Regency walkway failure. The effect of each failure on engineering ethics is examined from the viewpoint of both ethics in engineering and of ethics of engineering. In response to failures, engineers need to change professional procedures and...