Failures in Concrete Structures: Case Studies in Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete

by Robin Whittle

Overview

This book presents a selection of the author‘s firsthand experience with incidents related to reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, helping readers gain an understanding of errors that can occur in order to avoid making them. He includes mistakes discovered at the design stage, ones that led to failures, and some that involved partial structure collapse all of which required remedial action to ensure safety. The book focuses on specific incidents that occurred at various points in the construction process, including mistakes related to structural misunderstanding, extrapolation of codes of practice, and poor construction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135171728
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	11/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	148
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Robin Whittle has over 50 years design and site experience of working with concrete structures. He is currently a consultant to the Arup Group ltd.

Table of Contents

Failures due to Design Errors. Problems and Failures due to Errors in Structural Modelling. Failures due to Inappropriate Extrapolation of Code of Practice Clauses. Failures due to Misuse of Code of Practice Clauses. Problems and Failures due to Inadequate Assessment of Critical Force Paths. Problems and Failures due to Poor Detailing. Problems and Failures due to Inadequate Understanding of Materials’ Properties. Problems and Failures due to Poor Construction. Problems and Failures due to Poor Management. Problems and Failures due to Poor Construction Planning. Problems and Failures due to Deliberate Malpractice. Problems Arising from the Procurement Process. Contributions of Research and Development toward Avoidance of Failures. References. Index.

Editorial Reviews

"With the need to learn from ‘near misses’ being one of the outcomes of the recent forensic engineering conference in London, this book offers a good start by providing a useful selection of failures as well as ‘near misses’ of concrete structures. The author’s undoubted expertise in design and construction with concrete, attained over half a century of working experience with a major consultant in the UK, is evident from the introduction right through to the end."
—Forensic Engineering

"The book provides a fascinating insight into what can go wrong. It illustrates the importance of approaching problems from first principles and identifying the key load paths, loads, etc. This type of material rarely sees the light of day for reasons of litigation and commercial confidentiality."
—Robert Vollum, Imperial College, London, UK

"This book is essential reading for any experienced engineer and offers insight into how designers and builders accidentally create structures that fail. This book both explains how things fall down and what was done or could have been done to overcome these errors. Learning from errors is an essential part of any engineer’s knowledge and expertise."
—David M. Scott, Laing O’Rourke, Connecticut, USA

From the Publisher