In 1975, the Hartford Civic Center had officially opened in Hartford, Connecticut. With a seating capacity of 12,500 people, this new arena was designed to help revitalize the downtown area. Unfortunately, poor design planning and construction resulted in a structural failure that could have destroyed any hope of revitalizing Hartford.
On the early morning of January 18, 1978, the Hartford Civic Center arena roof completely collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowfall and fell over 80 feet to the arena floor. Had this collapse happened only hours earlier during a basketball game, thousands of innocent people would have either died or suffered serious injury. The design specifications for the roof demonstrated that it should withstand a significant amount of weight caused by snow and ice, yet the roof had collapsed from
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only 4.8 inches of snow accumulation. Did the engineers behind the design and construction of this roof fail to account for seasonal loading and associated safety concerns? To begin, the project had been divided into five sub contracts, which caused both project fragmentation and confusion over who was directly responsible. Vincent Kling & Associates was in charge of the facility architecture, while Fraoli, Blum, and Yesselman Engineers (FB&Y) was hired for the design of the arena. In the interests of cutting costs and saving time, FB&Y proposed an innovative design for the roof space frame that deviated from standard roof design in several ways. For example, horizontal members did not intersect at the same point as diagonal members, resulting in a greater chance of experiencing buckling (Martin 2). While these deviations resulted in a smaller radius of gyration and a decreased buckling load in comparison to typical roof design plans, the most significant issue in this event was the use of computer software to perform the structural analysis and design. In the interest of cost savings, fabrication began at ground level.
As the roof frame construction was in process, an inspection agency arrived on-site to evaluate the project. Following inspection, the agency notified the engineers of excessive deflections at several nodes (Martin 2). Despite this information, the project continued without alteration and the completed roof frame was lifted onto the building. During the lifting process, the observed deflection was found to be twice the deflection value calculated using the computer analysis. Nevertheless, the engineers continued with the project, believing that this variation was of little concern. As subcontractors attempted to move forward and install roof panels, it was found that the excessive deflection prevented panels from fitting properly. While a subcontractor notified others of this problem, the project manager felt little concern and simply directed the subcontractors to make adjustments in order to complete installation. Countless red flags were raised throughout this project, yet the engineers dismissed each concern, placing their trust in the initial computer
calculations. Following the collapse, a city panel hired Lev Zetlin Associates, Inc (LZA) to investigate. The report submitted by LZA revealed that there had been flaws throughout the entire process, yet the engineers failed to address obvious warning signs. Design deficiencies, such as load underestimations and a missing midpoint brace on the top layer, led to the collapse. It was discovered that computer model the engineers had relied so heavily on only considered the top chords, bottom chords and main diagonals, meaning the model failed to consider other design parameters such as the intermediate diagonals and horizontals. As a result, the top layer’s exterior compression members were overloaded by 852% on the east and west faces, and by 213% on the north and south faces (Martin 2-3). This report clearly demonstrated that the project engineers were to blame for this failure, which led to an out-of-court settlement several years later. From an ethical perspective, a utilitarian would state that the engineers involved in the design and construction of the roof had made unethical decisions. The moral theory of Utilitarianism is based on the belief that “what is good is what tends to produce a net utility for the persons affected” (Birsch 85-86). This statement translates to the idea that we should choose to do what produces the greatest benefit or happiness for people. In order to determine what produces the greatest benefit, we focus on the quantitative aspects of pleasure and pain to perform a utility calculation. The value of all pleasures of all people involved shall be summed, and the pains shall be summed as well. If there is a greater amount of pleasure, then the act is good. If there is a greater amount of pain, then the act is bad and therefore immoral. The simplified utility calculation below compares two choices that the engineers were faced with. Investigate Do not Investigate Involved Parties Pleasure Pain Net Pleasure Pain Net Engineers 0 -5 -5 0 -10 -10 Inspection Agency 5 0 5 0 -5 -5 Society 12,500(5) 0 62,500 0 12,500(-10) -62,500 City of Hartford 0 -5 -5 0 -10 -10 Total: 62,495 -62,525 (Scale -10:10) To begin, a scale of -10:10 was utilized to simplify the calculations performed. In addition, the pleasure and pain values of society are multiplied by the arena seating capacity of 12,500. For Choice 1, the engineers investigate the initial inspection report to determine the cause of the excessive deflection. By performing a detailed analysis of the design, it would be discovered that the computer model was inaccurate. This discovery would cause pain for the engineers and the City of Hartford, since it would prevent the project from being completed on time. However, society would be pleased that this finding is addressed and that the facility is safe. For Choice 2, the engineers choose not to investigate and instead trust the computer system calculations. This decision could have resulted in a roof collapse during an event in the arena, killing and injuring thousands of spectators. Given the results of this utility calculation, it is clear that by not investigating the report provided by the inspection agency, the engineers made an unethical decision that could have resulted in a significant negative net utility. While no lives had been lost in reality, the result of a collapsed roof could easily have been a significant catastrophe. In summary, there are valuable lessons to be learned from this event. First, an engineer must keep in mind that if calculations performed do not match what is observed in reality, it is critical that the engineer investigate the cause of variation. While in college, we often focus on acquiring book knowledge, yet fail to increase our practical knowledge through hands on experiences. We must learn to utilize common sense and think critically about a situation when the theoretical calculations and actual performance do not match. If a structure does not act or appear as it should, then there is likely a structural deficiency that needs addressed, regardless as to what a computer program may say. Secondly, it is imperative that engineers listen to the concerns of other employees and agencies. As confident as one might be in his or her calculations, there is always room for error. You may be an expert in the design, yet others that you are working with are experts in their area of work. It is your job as a professional to learn what other experts recommend and take their recommendations seriously. Therefore, if others voice questions and concerns to you during a project, it is important to take action and attain an answer. To conclude, while this collapse did not result in any deaths or injuries, the possible ramifications lead to the conclusion that the engineers made an egregious error in moral judgement. We must learn to continually ask questions, take into consideration the concerns of others, and seek to protect the safety and health of the public at all times. Acknowledgements The writer would like to express thanks to the following for their assistance throughout the course of completing this essay: To Dr. Lindsey Mason, the professor for Philosophy 1332, for assisting the writer in brainstorming various topics for this essay. To Deanna Fochesato, a friend of the writer, for providing her comments and suggestions while proofreading a rough draft of this report. Thank you both!
Steven Hermosillo Professor Wallace Fire Tech 105 15 November 2015 Silver Bridge Collapse According to Wikipedia, Forty-six people were killed in the silver-bridge collapse and another nine people were injured. “The Silver Bridge was an eye-bar-chain suspension bridge built in 1928 and named for the color of its aluminum paint. The bridge connected Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, over the Ohio River” (Wikipedia). This was a highly used bridge serving thousands of cars a day before the collapse.
The multi-purpose arena that I have chosen to evaluate is Boston University’s Agganis Arena. This arena is considered to be the next generation of Boston sports and entertainment by incorporating the latest multimedia technologies and providing the finest possible sight lines and views of the action. The arena is located within Boston University's new $225 million John Hancock Student Village, a 10-acre hub of activity designed to be the thriving center of student life and athletics, Agganis Arena is a state-of-the-art, multipurpose sports and entertainment center scheduled to open in January 2005. A 290,000-square-foot premier venue with 6,300 seats for hockey and ice shows, the Arena is expandable to over 7,200 seats for concerts, sporting events, and family shows.
The Greenhill Community Center was a multi-service center in Coastal City. Its main purpose was to provide human service programs for various factors throughout life with an intergenerational setting. Some of these included day care, elder programs, music classes, and afterschool programs. It was founded in 1982 and was set up in an old schoolhouse. In short, this community center could use some help.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is split into three sections. In the first section, Bierce describes in detail the situation, a youn...
December 1st, 1958 tragedy comes to Chicago, the catholic school Our Lady of Angels is a blase a fire has started in the basement of the north wing of the school at the bottom of the stairwell and is roaring through the north wing in a matter of minuets despite the best efforts of the Chicago fire department the north wing is nearly a total loss resulting in the death of 90 people died in the blaze and 5 more were critically injured resulting in deaths. Through my research I have sought to find the role that the construction of the building has played in the precipitation of this tragedy.
There have been suspicions surrounding how the towers collapsed into dust. Some say it was a “pancake” collapse. According to Engineers, a pancake collapse or progressive collapse is when the weight of all the floors above the collapsed zone bears down with pulverizing force on the highest intact floor and unable to absorb the energy, that floor would fail, transmitting the forces to the floor below, allowing the collapse to progress downward through the ...
One thing a sports arena is not originally built for is to survive a category five hurricane. The Superdome, built to house the famous NFL Saints, was never intended to become a “refuge of last resort” and was never designed, nor tested for such an event. It was announced the dome could support winds up to 200mph but this claim was later debunked when CNN reported no engineering study had ever been done to prove the accusation. Lies regarding the structural standing of a refugee building during a serious hurricane is life threatening, dangerous and should send up dozens of red flags as to why it was ...
January 12, 1888, a blizzard covered the northwest part of North America that claimed many lives. This blizzard was considered to be the worst blizzard of all time, and was dubbed the “the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard”, for claiming the lives of so many school children on their way home. The death toll of this murderous blizzard rose, because of lack of preparation and being uninformed. During this time, many farmers and families were unprepared to survive a blizzard of this magnitude, by the lack of clothing they wore. Forecasters were not as accurate enough to inform people on the weather conditions. Also, shelter was a major factor in protecting themselves from the winter storms, but the shelter was not stable
I wanted to let you know we are going to get someone out there by the beginning of next week if not sooner weather permitting. To be clear, we are going to come out to attempt to remedy the issue that you have brought to our attention. Being that the issue you have brought up to us seems to be an issue that was already existing in the same location, it seems to us that the true problem may be higher up on the shingle roof portion, not the metal roof portion we were contracted for. After reviewing the original documents and notes to production, they state that, as per customer we are not to replace the upper shingle roof portion due to cost and that you thought the shingles were not that old. It also stated not to do the
The practice of colonialism by several nations led to the possession and exploitation of weaker countries. It resulted in the strengthening of the mother country and oppression of the indigenous people of the colonies (Nowell, 2013). Colonial cities were deliberately developed within colonial societies in order to centralize political and economic control. Essentially, colonial cities facilitated the consolidation and exportation of wealth to the dominating nation (The Editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014).
Just imagine this rather frightening catastrophic rendition of events! A mile-high sheet of glacial ice again descends from the Arctic Circle onto the United States and soon every skyscraper in Seattle, Chicago and New York City is violently crushed and devastated during a 21st century three hundred and first cataclysmic ice invasion.
“At 12:42 p.m. the air was perfectly calm for about one minute; the next minute the sky was completely overcast by heavy black clouds which, for a few minutes previous, had hung along the western and northwestern horizon, and the wind veered to the west and blew with such violence as to render the position of the observer on the roof unsafe. The air was immediately filled with snow as fine as sifted flour” (Potter). No one expected the blizzard that would soon come rolling over to create some of the unfortunate deaths. Now, the questions are what exactly happened during the storm, how are snowstorms created, and what damages it caused.
The non-profit organization that I researched is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. They have spent the last 40 years educating people who live near the Chesapeake Bay or near one of its tributaries on things that need to be done in order to create a safe habitat for the aquatic and terrestrial life living near these waters and creating healthier, cleaner water within the bay.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is perhaps the most notorious failure in the world of engineering. It collapsed on November 7, 1940 just months after its opening on July 1, 1940. It was designed by Leon Moisseiff and at its time it was the third largest suspension bridge in the world with a center span of over half a mile long. The bridge was very narrow and sleek giving it a look of grace, but this design made it very flexible in the wind. Nicknamed the "Galloping Gertie," because of its undulating behavior, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge drew the attention of motorists seeking a cheap thrill. Drivers felt that they were driving on a roller coaster, as they would disappear from sight in the trough of the wave. On the last day of the bridge's existence it gave fair warning that its destruction was eminent. Not only did it oscillate up and down, but twisted side to side in a cork screw motion. After hours of this violent motion with wind speeds reaching forty and fifty miles per hour, the bridge collapsed. With such a catastrophic failure, many people ask why such an apparently well thought out plan could have failed so badly?(This rhetorical question clearly sets up a position of inquiry-which iniates all research.) The reason for the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is still controversial, but three theories reveal the basis of an engineering explanation. (Jason then directly asserts what he found to be a possible answer to his question.)
Works Cited Journal articles: • Lane, Thomas. “Crazy Angles, Soaring Steel.” Building vol. 274 no. 8588 (28) 2009, July 17, pp. 40-46.