Lessons From Failures Of Concrete Structures

First published in 1968, Jacob Feld's Construction Failure has longbeen considered the classic text on the subject. Retaining all ofthe key components of Feld's comprehensive exploration of the rootcauses of failure, this Second Edition addresses a multitude ofimportant industry developments to bring this landmark work up todate for a new generation of engineers, architects, andstudents. In addition to detailed coverage of current design tools,techniques, materials, and construction methods, ConstructionFailure, Second Edition features an entire chapter on theburgeoning area of construction litigation, including a thoroughexamination of alternative dispute resolution techniques. Like theoriginal, this edition discusses technical and procedural failuresof many different types of structures, but is now supplemented withnew case studies to illustrate the dynamics of failure in actiontoday. Jacob Feld knew thirty years ago that in order to learn from ourmistakes, we must first acknowledge and understand them. With thisrevised volume, Kenneth Carper has ensured that Feld'snow-posthumous message will continue to be heard for years tocome. Jacob Feld's comprehensive work on failure analysis has now beenskillfully amended to address current design and constructiontools, materials, and practices. Building on the first edition'speerless examination of the causes and lessons of failure,Construction Failure, Second Edition provides you with expandedcoverage of: * Technical, procedural, structural, and nonstructural failures * Natural hazards, earthworks, soil and foundation problems, andmore * Reinforced, precast and prestressed concrete, steel, timber,masonry, and other materials * Responsibility and litigation concerns, dispute avoidance, andalternative dispute resolution techniques * Construction safety issues * Many different types of structures, including dams andbridges Construction Failure has as much to teach us today as it did thirtyyears ago. This revised volume is an essential resource for designengineers, architects, construction managers, lawyers, and studentsin all of these fields.

Some lessons are only learned from mistakes but, it’s much cheaper to learn from someone else’s mistakes than to have to do so from your own. Drawing on over fifty years of working with concrete structures, Robin Whittle examines the problems which he has seen occur and shows how they could have been avoided. The first and largest part of the book tells the stories of a number of cases where things have gone wrong with concrete structures. Each case is analyzed to identify its cause and how it might have been prevented. It then looks at how failures in structural modelling can lead to big problems if they are not identified before construction is undertaken. Beyond this it examines how contract arrangements can encourage or prevent problems in the designing and building processes. It concludes with an examination of the role research and development in preventing failures. By identifying the differences between shoddy economizations and genuine efficiency savings, this book offers savings in the short term which won’t be at the expense of a structure’s long-term performance. Invaluable reading if you’re designing or building concrete structures and want to avoid problems which could be expensive or embarrassing further down the line.

Demolishing and rebuilding is becoming less and less of an option, and developing trends such as the growth of PFI are directing attention to whole life costing. With the relentless drive towards greater sustainability, proper asset management of the existing infrastructure will become increasingly important in the future. This authoritative book draws together deterioration and repair/remediation with practical asset management. Despite the wealth of information there is a lack of clear guidance on how to carry out a practical assessment of concrete structures and manage repair in the field. Accordingly, this book gives solid practical guidance on assessment, and outlines when and how to act. The focus is on engineering aspects and decision-making, in terms of perspective, procedures and principles, while giving references for matters of detail such as test methods and the mechanisms of deterioration. It links deterioration to deficiencies in design, detailing, materials and construction quality. It then gives examples of how asset management systems have evolved for different types of structure in different countries. It shows how to move forward from inspection and diagnosis, through different methods of damage or structural assessment, to the selection of the optimum method of repair or remedial action. The concept of progressive screening is proposed – that is, only going as far as is necessary to reach a decision with confidence. The author has drawn on over thirty years experience on concrete durability and, in particular, on his involvement in three recent European-funded projects, involving collaboration between the owners of structures and researchers.

On March 17 1989, the Civic Tower of Pavia collapsed without apparently any warning sign, killing four people. After an experimental and analytical investigation lasted nine months, the collapse cause was found in a progressive damage dating back many years and due mainly to the heavy dead load put on top of the existing medieval tower when realising a massive bell-tower in granite. Other case histories have been collected as the collapse of the St. Marco bell-tower in Venice in 1902, of the Sancta Maria Magdalena bell-tower in 1992 in Dusseldorf, the damages of the bell-tower of the Monza Cathedral and of the Torrazzo in Cremona. Later on, in 1996 the collapse of the Noto Cathedral showed that similar progressive damages can take place in pillars of churches and cathedrals. The experimental research aimed to show the reliability of this interpretation went on and it is still continuing since 1989 and it is described in the book. After a careful interpretation of the experimental results, also based on experiences from rock mechanics and concrete, the modelling of the phenomenon for massive structures as creep behaviour of masonry was implemented. The book has the scope of helping architects and engineers to deal with the continuous damage of heavy structures and, to understand the signs of the phenomenon while proposing some modelling, but also to give guidelines for the on site investigation, monitoring and repairing of the damaged structures.

This manual is intended to guide, assist, and instruct concrete inspectors and others engaged in concrete construction and testing, including field engineers, construction superintendents, supervisors, laboratory and field technicians, and workers. Designers may also find the manual to be a valuable reference by using the information to better adapt their designs to the realities of field construction. Because of the diverse possible uses of the manual and the varied backgrounds of the readers, it includes the reasoning behind the technical instructions. The field of concrete construction has expanded dramatically over the years to reflect the many advances that have taken place in the concrete industry. Although many of the fundamentals presented in previous editions of this manual remain relevant and technically correct, this eleventh edition incorporates new material to address these advances in technology

Manual of numerical methods in concrete aims to present a unified approach for the available mathematical models of concrete, linking them to finite element analysis and to computer programs in which special provisions are made for concrete plasticity, cracking and crushing with and without concrete aggregate interlocking. Creep, temperature, and shrinkage formulations are included and geared to various concrete constitutive models.