STRUCTURAL FAILURES

HOW DOES STRUCTURE FAIL? - Failure can occur if the force is too strong for the structure's design or if the force is acting on a vulnerable part of the structure (that part of the structure that will likely fail the most often). Some Reasons why structure can fail: Bad Design Faulty Construction Extraordinary Loads Foundation Failure

FAULTY CONSTRUCTION Faulty construction can have tragic consequences. The Sampoong Department Store in Seoul, South Korea, collapsed on June 29, 1995. The collapse killed 501 people. An investigation of the disaster showed that the construction materials were inadequate, and that the installation and building methods were poor. The government allowed the structure to pass inspections that it should have failed. The chairman of the building was charged with negligence for his disregard for public safety. Several government officials were also charged with accepting bribes to conceal the buildings flaws.

EXTRAORDINARY FAILURE In January 1998, North America experienced a massive ice storm. For days, parts of Ontario, Qubec, Nova Scotia, New York, and Maine were drenched with freezing rain.The rain coated everything with a 120 mmthick layer of ice. About 130 transmission towers were crushed under the weight of the ice . More than 4 million people in Qubec, Ontario, and New Brunswick had no electricity. Some people had no electricity for more than a month. At least 25 people died, many of them from the cold.

FOUNDATION FAILURE

A well-known example of foundation failure is the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy (Figure 10). The tower was built in 1178 on sandy, unstable soil with an inadequate foundation. The soil shifted and the tower began to lean almost right after construction began. Over the centuries, the tower leaned more and more. Modern construction methods have finally slowed down the movement of the tower and returned it to the angle at which it was leaning in 1870.

STABILITY FAILURES A stability failure is the first response that should be considered for any structures. Lateral forces and shaking actions are essentially destabilizing in nature; that is they tend cause failure that are not necessarily related to strength or stiffness but to the general ability to resist the form of action.

STRESS FAILURES A primary concern is the accumulation of the stresses beyond the resistance capability of the material of the structure, so many design formulas are based on stress responses. Every individual material has limitation.The structural natures of wood steel, concrete and masonry structures all derive both basic structural properties of material and from the usual processes of production based on those general properties. Much of the non-structural damage experienced in earthquake can be attributed to the deformation of the structure rather that to strength failure. Use of a very stiff material such as stiff is not necessarily effective.

SECONDARY FAILURES Many structural failures occur in sequence. Ultimately, there may be several stages of sequential response actions before complete failure occurs. Or the failure of one structure may simple precipitate the failure of another which in turn precipitates the failure of another.

CONNECTION FAILURES The joints between elements of the structures are another major source of failure in buildings that are not designed for earthquake resistance. Failures of roof-to-wall, floor-to-wall, wall corner, and building-to-foundation connections account for any building collapses. Connections are also a major concern within the bracing system developed as trusses and rigid frames. Due to the recent experiences in major earthquakes, intensive research is being done on column-beam connection in both welded steel and reinforced concrete frames.

Bolted Connection Check tightness Look for missing bolts sheared bolts elongated bolts excessive corrosion

Welded Connection cracked welds poor quality - irregular surface corrosion in connected parts Always use qualified welders

NONSTRUCTURAL DAMAGE Typically, the majority of the building construction is not considered to provide lateral bracing. Instead to the anchor the building for the wind effects and to add the seismic force by its mass. Nonstructural wall, suspended ceilings, window frames, curtain walls, and decorative elements are some example of nonstructural. Due to its stiffness, the nonstructural construction may receive a share of a lateral force for which it does not have sufficient resistive strength. Coincident structural action of nonstructural elements may modify the behavior of the lateral bracing structure.