Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Case 1: Failure of the Transcona Grain Elevator. 3
Failure: 3
Why? 4
Case 2: Leaning stability Of Pisa Tower. 4
Failure: 4
Case 3: Landslide in the Lincoln Community 5
Failure: 5
Why? 5
Case 4: Failure of Taipei Mass Rapid Transit Systems 6
Failure: 6
Why? 6
Case 5: The collapse of the Nicoll highway 7
Failure: 7
Why: 7
Case 6: Collapse of Hotel New World 8
Failure: 8
Why 8
Case 7: Collapse of Highland towers in Kuala Lumpur 9
Failure: 9
Why? 10
Case 8: Building collapse in Savar, Dhaka 10
Failure: 11
Why 11
Conclusion 11
References 13
History Cases of Geo-mechanics Failures
Introduction
Proper design of foundation required a strong basis on mechanics, but should also be
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There was the under-design of the diaphragm wall and the waler connection under-design in the strutting system. These errors lead to the failure of the 9th level strut-waler connections together with the inability of the overall temporary retaining wall system to resist the redistributed loads as the 9th level strutting started to fail. Disastrous collapse of part of the highway then followed which occurred step by step preceded by a chain of events
Why:
Several mechanical and administrative factors led to the collapse. One factor was the failure to demonstrate the required level of care and monitoring during construction. Warnings of the forthcoming collapse were seen from an early stage, but were ignored or taken lightly. Another factor contributing to the collapse was the appropriate design reviews notably the under-design of the diaphragm and that of the waler connections. There were inadequate contingency and corrective measures these designs and designs were not sufficiently robust to account for the risks recognized.
Another cause of the failure was overloading of the temporary works which coincided with the digging of a prop below the ninth level struts which was installed using jet grouting
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Under feasibility and planning, we may have factors such as unrealistic expectation of development on selected site, insufficient geotechnical investigation for the given development, unrealistic soil performance for given development and development constraints and restriction leading to inappropriate equipment or techniques. Consultant’s design and specifications may impose unrealistic demands on solutions. Client’s brief may fail to convey end usage; insufficient geotechnical investigation could lead to inappropriate design while on site conditions may be different to assumptions or what has been written. On the other hand flawed design and insufficient site preparation may lead to construction of structures which are likely to fail in the near future. Poor methodology and planning practices include: inappropriate or poor choice of equipment, lack of experience and understanding, lack of awareness and consequence of failure, bad workmanship and shortcutting and lack of
Although the initial reason for not hiring a technical consultant in these cases of poor land choice is most likely an attempt to lower design and construction costs, in retrospect it seems obvious that the money spent on the expertise of a geotechnical engineer would have been significantly less than the "millions of dollars of direct losses and litigation costs.
There are three clear landslides; the southwest landslide is stream-laid sand and gravel from the quaternary that was located on a steep slope resulting in gravity pulling sediments down the steep slope. The northeast landslide appears to be tuff sediments that have fallen upon biotite-quartz diorite rocks. The northwestern landslide is the largest of the landslides. The landslide occurred just south of the creek; erosion must have lowered the creeks elevation creating a steep decline resulting in Bena gravel to fall.
In the 1880’s half an acre was valued at $260,000, and by the 1890’s the same plots of land had risen to a dramatic $1.8 million per half acre (Hoyt, Homer 1933). With the drastic price increases and the densifying merchant class, the only financially practical way to expand was up. By 1890 Chicago had a population of more than a million people and had surpassed Philadelphia to become the second-largest city in the United States (Sprague, Paul E). The low buildings constructed just after the fire were seen as an inefficient use of valuable space. Traditional masonry construction, which required thicker foundations and massive footings the taller the building was erected, limited the potential for growth. What was needed was a new architectural vision and a new construction technique. The vision was the skyscraper and the technique was that of skeleton construction, adapted from engineering methods developed in bridge construction. These material advancements allowed for economic and rapid construction of these tall structures in conjunction with the refinement of the technology for the modern elevator that made the height of these structures convenient and practical (Anderson, Christy). Buildings no longer needed to be held up by external masonry walls, but by an interior skeletal structure that would allow for many dramatic advances in the form and aesthetic of Sullivan’s work.
The Transcontinental Railroad was started in 1862, the Union pacific and Central pacific started at Sacramento, California(Central) and Omaha, Nebraska(Union). Things were time consuming at this time period, so it took years to complete the project. Cranes and bulldozers
If a previous pavement on the site failed, the contractor will want to determine the cause.
The first step to development is to survey the property in order to document and draw the bounds and land surface shapes. The property will be represented by various geometry elements such as points, lines, arcs, circles, and other defined geometry shapes. Surveyors use scope on tripods witch use projection of line Referenced point on a stick in order to measure the variations of the heights on the ground. This tool uses various angel theorems and postulates to find location of property boundaries, property corners, utilities and building layouts on the property. The surveyor uses the data collected to draw the property layout on a 36”x 24”sheet of paper.
The concept of dynamic considerations of buildings is one which sometimes generates unease and uncertainty within the designer. Although this is understandable, and a common characteristic of any new challenge, it is usually misplaced. Effective earthquake design methodologies can be, and usually are, easily simplified without detracting from the effectiveness of the design. Indeed the high level of uncertainty relating to the ground motion generated by earthquakes seldom justifies the often used complex analysis techniques nor the high level of design sophistication often employed. A good earthquake engineering design is one where the designer takes control of the building by dictating how the building is to respond. This can be achieved by selection of the preferred response mode, selecting zones where inelastic deformations are acceptable and suppressing the development of undesirable response modes which could lead to building collapse.
Benefits of utilizing an EPS-block geofoam embankment include: (1) ease and speed of construction, (2) placement in adverse weather conditions, (3) possible elimination of the need for preloading, surcharging, and staged construction, (4) decreased maintenance costs as a result of less settlement from the low density of EPS-block geofoam, (6) reduction of lateral stress on bridge approach abutments, (7) use over existing utilities which reduces or eliminates utility relocation, (8) excellent durability, and (9) ability to be recycled. In a soil removal and replacement situation without the use of surcharging, the use of EPS-block geofoam may result in cost savings compared to other types of lightweight fill materials and conventional fill materials because the density of geofoam is 1/10th to 1/30th of the density of foamed concrete, 1/55th to 1/145th of the in-place density of boiler slag, and 1/100th of the density of conventional granular fill
... although we may never be able to understand exactly what soil failures can occur when a natural disasters take place, as time goes on and testing instruments and materials advance we will hopefully have a better understanding of what we can do to avoid soil failures and come up with a better and more sufficient method of improving the soils structure and strength permanently. While researching the information for this report I feel I have a much better understanding for construction geo-technics and foundations especially regarding the deformation, liquefaction and pile information related to this specific event. I hope to carry the information I have learned from this event into the construction field and apply them towards an authentic project that’s taking place and know that the information, regarding soils, I have given input on will be precise and accurate.
The type of basement I have chosen for this design is an in ground basement because I think it is best suited and will create so much room underneath the building. The ground that the two storey basement building is located on is water logged so the foundations will have to be able to take the whole weight of the building without any future movement from the soil, so I have decided to use secant piles because I think they are the most suitable for this type of ground because they will proved excellent waterproofing and won’t move.
Some other things that have become evident are that geometric simplicity and symmetry are key to constructing an earthquake resistant building. Simplicity often leads to symmetry, and in turn symmetry tends to decrease the likelihood of a concentration of mass. This idea of lighter buildings being safer can be explained mathematically using the formula F=MA. To understand how this formula works it is pertinent to recognize that earthquakes alone do not cause damage because all they provide is an acceleration.
Civil engineering has been one of the most important revolutionary keystones of civilization as it has been able to fundamentally change the development of the society throughout the history of mankind. It is a profession with largely human interest in mind. The civil engineers have been able to make use of the natural resources in the environment to make human life more comfortable and efficient. They have also been able to make our day to day life trouble-free by constructing buildings to live, learn and work, roads and railways to travel, bridges to connect unreachable points, airports for air travel and so on. When planning, designing, constructing the civil engineers have always given a great attention to facts such as safety, serviceability,
Engineer dates back to 1325 when an engine’er, someone who operates an engine, was referred to by a conductor as an engineer. (Ford)
Roads need to be constructed so that heavy equipment and supplies are easily transported to the mine site. The ore deposit extends in a very deep ground so it is necessary to remove layer by layer. If large enough mineral ores are deposited, with sufficient grade on the site, the project is to start with the plan but there are several components are to be made. This phase is the Development Phase.
Geotechnical Engineering covers the engineering properties of soils, the fundamentals of soil mechanics, and the application of geotechnical data and fundamentals to the design of foundation elements, earth-retaining structures, excavations, earth embankments and highway pavements.