Forensics and Case Studies in Civil Engineering Education: State of the Art

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)

[1]  Richard L. Handy.  The Day the House Fell , 1995 .

[2]  Robert W. Day.  Performance of utility-trench shoring: Case study , 1993 .

[3]  Joe Morgenstern.  The fifty-nine-story crisis , 1997 .

[4]  H. S. Lew,et al.  Investigation of Construction Failure of Harbour Cay Condominium in Cocoa Beach, Florida , 1981 .

[5]  F. Amini,et al.  OLD POST OFFICE FOUNDATION FAILURE INVESTIGATION , 1997 .

[6]  Oswald Rendon-Herrero.  Including Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering Courses , 1993 .

[7]  Robert W. Day,et al.  Performance of Fill that Contains Organic Matter , 1994 .

[8]  G. Padmanabhan,et al.  Using Community-Based Projects in Civil Engineering Capstone Courses , 2002 .

[9]  Hsin-Neng Hsieh,et al.  Performance of Some Structures Constructed on Chromium Ore Fills , 1989 .

[10]  Satinder P. S. Puri,et al.  Structural Failures and Engineering Ethics , 1995 .

[11]  Lewis L. Zickel.  Failure Vignettes for Teachers , 2000 .

[12]  Norbert J. Delatte.  Using Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering Education , 2000 .

[13]  Robert P. DeScenza,et al.  Construction Collapse of Precast Concrete Framing at Pittsburgh's Midfield Terminal , 1997 .

[14]  Henry Petroski,et al.  To Engineer is Human , 1985 .

[15]  Spencer P. Magleby,et al.  A Review of Literature on Teaching Engineering Design Through Project‐Oriented Capstone Courses , 1997 .

[16]  Pauline MacKinnon,et al.  Case for Undergraduate Study of Disasters , 2000 .

[17]  Kevin L. Rens,et al.  Development of an Internet Failure Information Disseminator for Professors , 2000 .

[18]  Piotr D. Moncarz,et al.  Engineering Process Failure—Hyatt Walkway Collapse , 2000 .

[19]  Matthys Levy,et al.  Why Buildings Fall Down: How Structures Fail , 1994 .

[20]  A W Knott,et al.  CIVIL ENGINEERING EDUCATION THROUGH CASE STUDIES OF FAILURES. DISCUSSIONS AND CLOSURE , 1999 .

[21]  F. C. Hadipriono,et al.  Failures of Residential Building Basements in Ohio , 1994 .

[22]  Oswald Rendon-Herrero.  Too Many Failures: What Can Education Do? , 1993 .

[23]  E. W. Goldstein.  Timber Construction for Architects and Builders , 1998 .

[24]  Jonathan D. Bray,et al.  Collapse of Geogrid-Reinforced Retaining Structure , 1994 .

[25]  Kenneth L. Carper,et al.  Design and Construction Failures: Lessons from Forensic Investigations , 1991 .

[26]  T. H. Mckaig.  Building failures : case studies in construction and design , 1962 .

[27]  Fabian C. Hadipriono,et al.  Problems in Deep Foundation Construction in Taiwan , 1990 .

[28]  Robert W. Day,et al.  Damage to Two Apartment Buildings Due to Moisture Variation of Expansive Soil , 1992 .

[29]  Glenn R. Bell,et al.  More Misapplications of the Finite Element Method , 1997 .

[30]  Norbert J. Delatte,et al.  Another Look at Hartford Civic Center Coliseum Collapse , 2001 .

[31]  Robert W. Day,et al.  CALIFORNIA HOUSING DAMAGE RELATED TO EXPANSIVE SOILS a , 1995 .

[32]  Xxyyzz.  Computer Misuse—Are We Dealing with a Time Bomb? Who is to Blame and What are We Doing about It?—A Panel Discussion , 1997 .

[33]  Norbert J. Delatte.  Closure to Discussion: Failure Case Studies and Engineering Ethics in Engineering Mechanics Courses , 1998 .

[34]  Steven S. Ross.  Construction disasters : design failures, causes, and prevention , 1984 .

[35]  David H. Nicastro,et al.  Guest Editorial: Annotated Bibliography of Forensic Engineering , 1996 .

[36]  Robert W. Day.  Case Study of Settlement of Gravelly Sand Backfill , 1995 .

[37]  Robert W. Day,et al.  Performance of Slab‐on‐Grade Foundations on Expansive Soil , 1994 .

[38]  J. David Frost,et al.  Failures in Civil Engineering: Structural, Foundation and Geoenvironmental Case Studies , 1995 .

[39]  Xxyyzz.  So Your Home Is Built on Expansive Soils , 1995 .

[40]  Gregory P. Luth.  Chronology and Context of the Hyatt Regency Collapse , 2000 .

[41]  David Newton Richardson,et al.  Soil-Shrinkage Induced Structural Failure , 1987 .

[42]  Kevin L. Rens,et al.  Failure analysis case study information disseminator , 2000 .

[43]  Kevin L. Rens,et al.  Temporary Bracing Failures during Construction (Fact or Fiction): Case Studies , 2000 .

[44]  H S Lew,et al.  Investigation of construction failure of reinforced concrete cooling tower at Willow Island, WV , 1982 .

[45]  Kevin L. Rens,et al.  Concrete Maturity: A Valid Non-Destructive Evaluation and Forensic Tool , 2000 .

[46]  Jack D. Gillum.  The Engineer of Record and Design Responsibility , 2000 .

[47]  Ruben J. Baer,et al.  GUEST EDITORIAL ARE CIVIL ENGINEERING GRADUATES ADEQUATELY INFORMED ON FAILURE? A PRACTITIONER'S VIEW , 1996 .

[48]  Kevin L. Rens,et al.  Teaching Experiences, a Graduate Course in Condition Assessment and Forensic Engineering , 1997 .

[49]  Norbert J. Delatte,et al.  Another Look at the L'Ambiance Plaza Collapse , 2000 .

[50]  John P. Gnaedinger,et al.  OPEN HEARTH SLAG--A PROBLEM WAITING TO HAPPEN , 1987 .

[51]  Satinder P. S. Puri,et al.  Discussion: Failure case studies and ethics in engineering mechanics courses , 1997 .

[52]  Jack Janney.  Review of Construction Failure 2nd Edition by Jacob Feld and Kenneth L. Carper , 1997 .

[53]  Paul A. Bosela.  Failure of Engineered Facilities: Academia Responds to the Challenge , 1993 .

[54]  Kevin L. Rens,et al.  Failure of Constructed Facilities in Civil Engineering Curricula , 2000 .

[55]  A. Rhett Whitlock,et al.  Foundation Design Considerations for Construction on Marshlands , 1996 .

[56]  Sarah K. A. Pfatteicher,et al.  “The Hyatt Horror”: Failure and Responsibility in American Engineering , 2000 .