Structural failure
Structural failure refers to loss of the load-carrying capacity of a component or member within a structure or of the structure itself. Structural failure is initiated when the material is stressed to its strength limit, thus causing fracture or excessive deformations. The ultimate failure strength of the material, component or system is its maximum load-bearing capacity. When this limit is reached, damage to the material has been done, and its load-bearing capacity is reduced permanently, significantly and quickly. In a well-designed system, a localized failure should not cause immediate or even progressive collapse of the entire structure. Ultimate failure strength is one of the limit states that must be accounted for in structural engineering and structural design.
[edit] Notable structural failures
| Year | Structure | Location
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| 1847 | Dee bridge disaster | Chester, England
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| 1865 | Steamboat Sultana boiler explosion | Memphis, Tennessee
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| 1879 | Tay Rail Bridge | Dundee, Scotland
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| 1907 | Quebec Bridge | Quebec City, Canada
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| 1919 | Boston Molasses Disaster | Boston, Massachusetts
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| 1940 | First Tacoma Narrows Bridge | Tacoma, Washington, United States
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| 1954 | BOAC Flight 781, de Havilland Comet | Mediterranean Sea off Elba
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| 1966 | BOAC Flight 911, Boeing 707 | Near Mount Fuji, Japan
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| 1967 | Silver Bridge | Point Pleasant, West Virginia, United States
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| 1968 | Ronan Point collapse | London, England
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| 1978 | Hartford Civic Center | Hartford, Connecticut, United States
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| 1979 | Kemper Arena | Kansas City, Missouri, United States
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| 1981 | Hyatt Regency walkway collapse | Kansas City, Missouri, United States
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| 1985 | Japan Airlines Flight 123, Boeing 747 | Mount Takamagahara in Gunma Prefecture, Japan
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| 1986 | Space Shuttle Challenger disaster | Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States
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| 1986 | Hotel New World Disaster | Little India near Serangoon Road, Singapore
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| 1987 | L'Ambiance Plaza collapse | Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States
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| 1993 | Highland Towers collapse | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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| 1995 | Sampoong Department Store collapse | Seoul, South Korea
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| 1996 | TWA Flight 800, Boeing 747 | Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, United States
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| 2000 | Pier No. 34 | Philadelphia, United States
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| 2001 | Versailles wedding hall collapse | Jerusalem, Israel
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| 2001 | Collapse of the World Trade Center | New York City, United States
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| 2003 | Space Shuttle Columbia disaster | Texas, United States
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| 2004 | Collapse of the Terminal 2E roof, Charles de Gaulle Airport | Paris, France
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| 2007 | I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapse | Minneapolis, United States
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| 2007 | Bridge over Jiantuo River collapse during construction | Hunan province, China
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| 2007 | Collapse of Cần Thơ Bridge | Tây Nam Bộ, Vietnam
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- [1]Japan Science and Technology Agency Failure Knowledge Database
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