Failure Case Studies: Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics

Welcome to the case studies project. 

In this project, innovative course materials for teaching engineering design and analysis through failure case studies will be developed.  This project will support the integration of research in forensic engineering into undergraduate education.

At this site, you will find an introduction to the overall project and a bibliography.  You will also find typical civil engineering and engineering mechanics courses, with case studies listed. 

This web site is a companion to the book Beyond Failure: Forensic Case Studies for Civil Engineers, Delatte, Norbert J., ASCE Press, expected publication in January 2009.  Once the book is published, see the ASCE Bookstore for more details. 

The web site is a living document that will supplement the book with web links, additional information, and supplemental illustrations.  At this time, not all of the cases have been filled in yet.  

This web site was originally developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but the project has moved to Cleveland State University.  

Every year from 2003 to 2008, faculty workshops on teaching with failure case studies have been held.  Information on future workshops is provided through the Workshop link below.  

Project Web Page Sections:

Introduction

Case Studies Bibliography

Workshops

Master List of Failure Cases (chronological order)

            Building Failures

            Bridge Failures

            Dam Failures

            Other Failure Cases

Courses

Information for Faculty

The ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering

Principal Investigator:

Norbert Delatte, P.E., Ph.D., Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, Stilwell Hall, Euclid Avenue at East 24th Street, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio – 44115  

Telephone: (216) 687-9259

Fax: (216) 687-5395

For questions or comments about this project, email: n.delatte@csuohio.edu

Cleveland State University Delatte faculty web page

Full curriculum vitae

Research Sponsors:

Much of this material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grants No. EEC-9820484, DUE-0127419, and DUE-0536666.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.  The support of the National Science Foundation is greatly appreciated.  NSF Web Site

This project is being carried out in cooperation with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Technical Council on Forensic Engineering Education Committee.   ASCE Web Site.

This project was conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and at Cleveland State University.

Disclaimer: it is common to have honest differences of opinion about causes and responsibility for failures.  The opinions expressed on this web site are those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the National Science Foundation, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, or Cleveland State University.

Latest update: August 8, 2008