Failure Case Studies: Steel Structures

54 Pages·2019·4.481 MB·English

by  Navid Nastar, Rui Liu

Failure Case
Studies
Steel Structures
Forensic Engineering Division
Edited by
Navid Nastar, Ph.D., P.E., S.E.
Rui Liu, Ph.D., P.E.
Failure Case Studies
Steel Structures
Edited by
Navid Nastar, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., F.ASCE
Rui Liu, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Sponsored by
the Forensic Engineering Division of the
American Society of Civil Engineers
Published by the American Society of Civil Engineers
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019945970
CIP data is available with the Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov
Published by American Society of Civil Engineers
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, Virginia 20191-4382
www.asce.org/bookstore | ascelibrary.org
Anystatementsexpressedinthesematerialsarethoseoftheindividualauthorsanddonot
necessarily represent the views ofASCE, whichtakes no responsibility foranystatement
made herein. No reference made in this publication to any specific method, product,
process, or service constitutes or implies an endorsement, recommendation, or warranty
thereof by ASCE. The materials are for general information only and do not represent a
standardofASCE,noraretheyintendedasareferenceinpurchasespecifications,contracts,
regulations, statutes, or any other legal document. ASCE makes no representation or
warrantyofanykind,whetherexpressorimplied,concerningtheaccuracy,completeness,
suitability, or utility of any information, apparatus, product, or process discussed in this
publication,andassumesnoliabilitytherefor.Theinformationcontainedinthesematerials
shouldnotbeusedwithoutfirstsecuringcompetentadvicewithrespecttoitssuitabilityfor
anygeneralorspecificapplication.Anyoneutilizingsuchinformationassumesallliability
arisingfromsuchuse,includingbutnotlimitedtoinfringementofanypatentorpatents.
ASCEandAmericanSocietyofCivilEngineers—RegisteredinUSPatentandTrademark
Office.
Photocopiesandpermissions.PermissiontophotocopyorreproducematerialfromASCE
[e-mail]
title in the ASCE Library (http://ascelibrary.org) and using the “Permissions” link.
Errata: Errata, if any, can be found at https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784415306.
Copyright © 2019 by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 978-0-7844-1530-6 (print)
ISBN 978-0-7844-8219-3 (PDF)
ISBN 978-0-7844-8220-9 (ePub)
Manufactured in the United States of America.
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 1 2 3 4 5
Cover photo: Martha T/Wikimedia Commons.
Contents
Preface.................................................................................................................................................v
Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................vii
Chapter 1 West Gate Bridge Collapse, 1970.............................................1
Chapter 2 University of Washington Stadium Collapse, 1987...............5
Chapter 3 Damage to Steel Moment-Resisting Frames during the
Northridge Earthquake, 1994....................................................9
Chapter 4 Colorado State Route 470 Overpass Collapse, 2004..........15
Chapter 5 Pittsburgh Convention Center Expansion Joint Failure,
2007..............................................................................................21
Chapter 6 I-35W Bridge Collapse, 2007...................................................25
Chapter 7 Elliot Lake Algo Centre Mall Collapse, 2012........................31
Chapter 8 Skagit River Bridge Collapse, 2013........................................37
Index..................................................................................................................................................43
iii
This page intentionally left blank
Preface
This publication was developed by the Education Committee of the Forensic
Engineering Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The
currentdocumentisthefirstintheFailureCaseStudiesseriesinCivilEngineering
andpresentseightcasestudiesoffailuresobservedinsteelstructuresbetween1970
and 2013.
Failures in Civil Engineering: Structural, Foundation and Geoenvironmental
CaseStudieswasfirstpublishedbyASCEin1995.EditedbyRobinShepherdand
J.DavidFrost,thepublicationcollectedshortdescriptionsandrelevantreferences
for43failurecasestudies.Subsequently,theEducationCommitteeoftheForensic
Engineering Division of ASCE published a second edition of the document in
2013, retitled Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering: Structures, Foundations,
and the Geoenvironment, with updates and additional case studies.
TheFailureCaseStudiesseriesisafollow-onprojecttopreviouseffortsbythe
ASCE Forensic Engineering Division and is intended to promote learning from
failures by disseminating information regarding previous failure cases. The
purpose of the Failure Case Studies series and their predecessor documents is
to promote failure literacy to improve the practice of civil engineering and to
reduce risk to the public.
Each case study in this document presents a summary description of a
documentedcivilengineeringfailure,followedbylessonslearnedfromthefailure
and references for further study.
Thereaderisremindedthateachcasestudyonlycontainsthefindingsofthe
research and literature review by the author(s) who directly contributed to that
particular case study, based on the published results of failure investigations for
each case. The contents of this document do not represent the professional or
personal opinions and views of the editors, authors, contributors, or ASCE.
v
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
TheEducation Committeeof theForensic EngineeringDivisionofASCE wishes
to acknowledge the contribution of the following members of the Education
Committee, who are the primary authors of the contents of this publication:
NavidNastar,Ph.D.,P.E.,S.E.,F.ASCE,Brandow&Nastar,Inc.,andUniversity
of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Rui Liu, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, Kent State University, Kent, OH
Paul A. Bosela, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, Bosela Forensic Engineering Consultants,
Copley, OH
Norbert J. Delatte, Ph.D., P.E., F.ACI, F.ASCE, Oklahoma State University,
Stillwater, OK
Kenneth L. Carper, M.ASCE, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
Furthermore,theEducationCommitteewouldliketoacknowledgethecontri-
butionofKevinRens,Ph.D.,P.E.,oftheUniversityofColorado,Denver,andAmy
Rens, P.E., to the case study of the Colorado State Route 470 Overpass Collapse.
TheeditorswouldliketothankAlexL.Nothnagel,P.E.,ofBrandow&Nastar,
Inc., for his assistance in the preparation and editorial review of this document.
TheeditorsalsowishtoacknowledgethecontributionofPamaleeA.Brady,Ph.D.,
P.E.,ofCalPolySanLuisObispo,GreggE.Brandow,Ph.D.,P.E.,S.E.,ofBrandow
&Nastar,Inc.,andLauraE.Sullivan-Green,Ph.D.,ofSanJoseStateUniversityfor
their review of part of the contents of this publication. In addition, the editors
thankTaraCavalline,Ph.D.,P.E.,oftheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatCharlotte
for her review of this publication.
Moreover, the editors would like to thank ASCE and, in particular, its
Committee on Technical Advancement for the financial support necessary for
development of this publication.
The Education Committee thanks members of the Executive Committee of
theForensicEngineeringDivisionofASCE:AliciaE.DíazDeLeo´n(Chair),Ziad
M. Salameh (Past Chair), Clemens J. Rossell (Vice Chair), Navid Nastar (Secre-
tary), and Benjamin M. Cornelius for their support of the project and for their
review of the document and valuable feedback.
Navid Nastar, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., F.ASCE
Principal, Brandow & Nastar, Inc.
Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Southern California
Rui Liu, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Assistant Professor, Kent State University
Editors
vii
This page intentionally left blank
CHAPTER 1
West Gate Bridge Collapse,
1970
TheWestGateBridge,inMelbourne,Victoria,Australia,spanstheYarraRiverto
connect Melbourne and its western suburbs (Figure 1-1). The bridge and its
approaches,withatotallengthof2,583m(8,473ft),risefromgroundlevelonthe
westbank of theYarraRiver onto a concreteviaduct, cross the river infivesteel
spans 58.5 m (192 ft) above the water, and finally extend onto another concrete
viaductthatreachestheeastbankanddescendsbacktogroundlevel.Theproject
wasdesignedtocarryfourlanesoftrafficineachdirectionatspeedsof112.7km/h
(70 mi/h).
ConstructionofthebridgebeganonApril22,1968,inaperiodwhenthistype
ofboxgirderbridgehadbecomepopular.The“skin”ofthesystemsupportslocal
loadsbyresistingbending,shearing,torsion,andotherloadeffects.Inaboxgirder
bridge,thelowprofilehelpsimproveaerodynamicstability.Themaindrawbackis
thattheplatesthatmakeupthe“skin”aresubjecttodistortionduringfabrication,
and buckling is difficult to predict.
The central bridge was designed as a five-span continuous steel box girder
withstaycablesradiatingfromtwotowers(Figure1-1).Thebridgeconsistedofa
series of trapezoidal steel boxes. Each box was 4 m (13.1 ft) deep, 16 m (52.5 ft)
long,and25.5m(83.5ft)wideatthetopflange,withacantileverbracket(usedto
build extensions between the arms of the bridge) at each side extending out
another3.2m(10.5ft).Theusualconstructionmethodwastofabricatetheboxes
onthegroundandtoraiseandboltthemintheairtocreateacantileverbridge,
onethathastwosections(orarms)extendingfromoppositebanksandjoiningin
the middle, above the water.
The collapse occurred on October 15, 1970, while the bridge was still under
construction.Ahalf-spanofthebridgehadbeenassembledontheground.When
itwasraisedintoposition,itwasdiscoveredthatthecamberofthenewhalf-span
was about 114 mm (4.5 in.) out of alignment compared to the camber of the
previous half-span to which it was to be attached (West Gate Bridge Royal
Commission 1971). To force the camber to match and allow the new span to be
attached, seven 8-ton concrete blocks, known as kentledge, were used to load
downthenewhalf-spanandremovethecamberdifference.Thislargeloadcaused
one of the inner upper panels of the bridge to buckle, and an 88.9 mm (3.5 in)
1