Why Did The Stadiums Roof Collapse

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In 1975, an arena was built in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. The arena was designed to hold 12,500 people and showcase many different events. From sports events to concerts and other events. However, in 1978, having been open for only 3 years, the stadiums roof suddenly collapsed due to a snowstorm. It took less than 5 inches of snow, 4.8 to be exact, to bring down the roof. Lucky it was early in the morning around 4 am and no one was hurt, however the incident had occurred a few hours earlier when a college basketball game was being held. The results could have been a disastrous. The specifications stated that the roof would be able to hold more than what had occurred under harsher conditions. But the questions was why it didn’t and who …show more content…

As well as who should be held responsible for the roof collapse. The firm of Lev Zetlin Associates was hire to do an investigation of what caused the roof to collapse. The firm’s results were that the exterior top chord compression members on the east and west faces were overloaded by as much as 852%, the exterior top chord compression members on the south and north faces were overloaded by as much as 213%, the interior top chord compression members in the east–west direction were overloaded by as much as 72%. In short the designs were not close to what was originally designed. There were other differences in the weight of the frame. It was designed for 18 pounds per square foot. When in reality it was actually 23 pounds per square foot. This was stated to be about a 20% difference. Is was stated that this design was so heavily relied on computer software aid or help, rather than taking the time to work out by hand and double check with the …show more content…

Researching to see if there are finished examples that may be similar to what is being designed would be helpful. It won’t be the exact same thing but there may be some parts that would be comparable. You may also find that the design you are contemplating has been attempted and if problems arose with that project, then you would know what to expect and possibly how to avoid them in your project. Also, making sure that all of the know variables are available. Every project is different and the variables specific for that project need to be known. What kind of weather conditions will the design be under, how much force, safety, and other factors are

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