Bridge Disasters: Analysing the Most Horrible Bridge Failures

Tay Bridge

Introduction

The Tay Bridge crosses the Firth of Tay between Newport and Dundee in Scotland on a railway line. It was 10,320 feet long. The failure of the Tay Bridge took place on December 29, 1879, resulting in the death of 75 people. Bridge collapsed under the effect of various factors including inadequate design and revision of the original design without analyzing the effects of wind forces.

Tay Bridge disaster

The Tay Bridge disaster was one of the greatest disasters of nineteenth century engineering. The bridge collapsed when a passenger train passed through it. There was strong wind pressure, the bridge could not stand it and the whole train fell into the water and disappeared. The bridge consisted of 85 spans of various construction and design. Only 13 bays fell into the water, others remained intact. The disaster of the bridge had different reasons.The first and most important factor was the design of the bridge.It is original The design was revised by another contractor named Mr.bouch, the first contractor having died. The revised design includes a much smaller base, so that litters have been increased and the number of pillars has been reduced. A shortage of money savings was not satisfactorily designed by the builder because its cost was much higher. One of the reasons for the disaster determined by the London Engineering Firm was that the bridge was designed to withstand wind pressure. no more than 30 lb.per sq.ft, so it can not stand as much wind pressure of 40 lb.per sq.ft. Also, the material used for construction was not appropriate. Flat iron was used, but there were some defects in the material so the cast iron was no longer used during the reconstruction of the Tay bridge. These various factors and Mr. Bouch's negligence led to the bridge failure and the loss of so many lives.

Conclusion

The Tay Bridge disaster was one of the biggest engineering disasters that resulted in the loss of so many lives. After this disaster, we learned a lot. First, if the design had been designed in accordance with American practice, so many lives could have been saved. Second, the bridges must be designed in accordance with the specifications of the British standard, as they specify the correct wind pressure to be used in the design depending on the conditions. Thirdly, it is the duty of everyone to use a suitable material with good mechanical properties in the construction. Bridging is also required on a regular basis. If the above measures are to be taken, it is clear that we can have quality and safe bridges and constructions.

Breaking the Chester River Bridge:

Introduction

A bridge can collapse in different ways; Fatigue and insufficient inspection. The first is that it may be too weak to deal with a sudden transit load. This means that it has been designed to support a certain load but that it exceeds one way or another, it can lead to serious transit problems. This also includes weakness, the use of rough material. The other reason is that the inspection of the material before and after its completion does not pose a serious problem. The failures caused by the lack of serious inspections may not be too serious, but the damage they cause is devastating. This case study focuses on a bridge causing an unusual failure of the Chester River, Chester, United Kingdom. The evening of September 10, 1921. This bridge failure is due to inadequate inspection. This cause may be considered very minor, but it is very risky and sensitive. A generally competent and careful engineer shows negligence in some parts of the design. The fingers are indicated on the person involved during the maintenance and inspection. It is not a question of degrading, but of making sure that it does not happen again, because it creates a huge loss, both lively and economic.

Cause of failure

• The cantilevered sidewalk leaned toward the river because of the overcrowding of the crowd that attended the rescue of a boy.
• The missing support was bolted to the beam stiffener by the gusset which was riveted to the upper corner of the support. Apart from other media that have been riveted only.
• The bridge was repaired several times before, so the old fracture became rusty and caused a collapse.
• The deck design was also an essential part of the failure since the wrought iron had been used.
• The tread was observed vertically

Failure analysis

It was finally analyzed that the failure of the bridge was due to the lack and irresponsibility of the inspection team. It was felt that a defect of this type, which obviously had to be inspected, was neglected and took no gravity. The collapse revealed negligence on the part of the inspectors, who were held responsible for this deadly incident.

Conclusion

As an engineer, inspection is inseparable from any manufacturing design. Recently, in Multan, small pieces of bridge built for a subway bus fell and 1 victim was reported. It has been verified that this was due to a wrong choice of material. Before and after inspections must be done to avoid problems and losses. If a company chooses to compromise the inspection, it has caused a lot of problems to their door.
For the future, companies need to hire a qualified and highly qualified inspection engineer who is fully aware of the circumstances in which any type of failure that could cause damage to the company is neglected. Inspection is necessary for the owner and the designer. This conclusion is a brief summary that highlights the importance of inspection and the importance of a qualified inspection team.

Second Narrow Bridge

Introduction

There are many definitions of the word failure. However, according to engineering, 'failure occurs whenever a structure stops working the way it was designed. Today, in this report, we analyze the failures of bridges, their causes and ways to minimize these failures.

Bridge failure

Bridge failures can lead to injuries, loss of life and property damage, so these incidents must be taken into account so that we can minimize these losses. Bridge designers, architects, construction workers, engineers and inspectors must take their responsibilities seriously, as their work has a direct impact on the quality of life of those around them.

Second Narrows Bridge collapse

On June 17, 1958, 79 workers building the new Second Narrows Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, were dipped in Burrard Inlet when part of the bridge collapsed during construction, resulting in the death of 19 people.

The momentum disrupted the columns of Pier 14, resulting in the loss of Span 4 adhesion and falling into the sea. A second error occurred in the calculation of the design. It had been stated that the mistake had been discovered before the collapse by a member of the consulting firm but, unfortunately, no action had been taken.

Conclusion

The cause of the failure is that the design does not give enough importance to the design phase, so it's a very critical part of the structure. As a result, design engineers should consider this issue in the future and perform all calculations accurately.
Engineers and inspectors must re-check the design before giving it a green signal, as this can have many life implications. The part must go through an inspection and testing before going to the field so that we can minimize this type of failure.

Kings Bridge

Introduction

The Kings Bridge covers the Yara River in Melbourne, Australia. It was 23,000 feet long. The Kings Bridge failed on July 10, 1962. The bridge collapsed due to a variety of factors, including inadequate design.

Kings Bridge failure

The Kings Bridge disaster was one of the greatest engineering disasters of the 19th century. Failure occurs when a truck carrying a 30 tonne crane crosses the bridge. This is a partial collapse of a range of 100 feet. The partial fracture results from a fragile fracture. of the steel and the choice of the wrong weld and also because of the low temperature.The main reason for the fracture was the insufficiency of the ductility of the notch in the steels, which leads to cracks at seven places different on the same span.The percentage of carbon should be 0.23 in the steel was checked, the percentage of carbon was about 0.28, which causes great britilité in the steel.Unother factor responsible for the failure was the design. Some main tests were omitted as they are also responsible for the break. The welding method was also used. important factor, it is important to preheat all low alloy steel before welding.The preheating was insufficient heating amount.There must be three causes of brittle failure: there must be notches, the temperature must be lower than the temperature transition and the last of the constraints must be present. These various factors and negligence lead to bridge failure and the loss of many lives.

Conclusion

The Kings Bridge disaster was one of the greatest technical disasters that resulted in the loss of so many lives. After this disaster, we learned a lot. First, if the design had been designed in accordance with British practice, so many lives could have been saved. Secondly, the bridges must be designed in accordance with the specifications of the British standard, as they specify the wind pressure to be used in the design depending on the conditions. Thirdly, it is incumbent on everyone to use a suitable material with good mechanical properties. The cost is not important to human lives, so it should be considered when designing.