The Root Causes of Major Engineering Disasters that Have Occurred since 1800 - Coursework Example

Investigate the root causes of major Engineering disasters that have occurred since 1800 Grade (March. 12, 2015) Investigate the root causes of major Engineering disasters that have occurred since 1800 Introduction Engineering is a profession that has been tasked with both the invention and development of structures that serve different humanity needs. However, once in a while, some major errors occurring in the engineering processes used either in the development or construction of such structures have often led to the occurrence of major disaster. The notable engine in the course of the last two centuries since 1800 vary from transport disasters to space-ships, aircrafts, buildings, nuclear and power generation facility disasters. Thus, this investigative report seeks o analyze the root causes of engineering disasters. The analysis will sample three major disasters and apply them as inferences to the development of the answer to the question of the root causes of the major engineering disasters that have occurred since 1800. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster -1940 The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster -1940 refers to an engineering disaster that occurred in the state of Washington, when one of the most modern suspension bridges of the time collapsed (Karman, 1963). The bridge had only been opened to the traffic just four months before its collapse, despite the fact that the features of the bridge had been designed such that it would last for many years without a possible collapse or even need for repairs. Owing to the fact that the Tacoma suspension bridge was the third-most longest suspension bridge in the world, and the most modern bridge constructed using the contemporary engineering designs of the time. Thus, its collapse resulted in major studies in the field of bridge construction, which have subsequently influenced the modern design of different bridges worldwide (Scot, 2001). Initial Identifiable problems The Tacoma Narrows Bridge had shown signs of identifiable problems since its construction, although the problems were not identifiable in its engineering design, but a problem of considerable vertical oscillations that the bridge experienced during the initial stages of its construction (Scot, 2001). Consequently, some measures were adopted, which included the attachment of tie-down cables to girders, addition of a pair of inclined cable stays and installing the hydraulic buffers between the floor deck and the towers, to further stabilize the bridge (Leon & Lienhard, 1993). Professor Burt from the University of Washington was hired to undertake a study and recommend the appropriate measure that needed to be undertaken to reduce the oscillations. He undertook a study and completed it by presenting two major solutions on November 2, 1940, but the bridge collapsed just five days after the recommendations were presented. The root causes of the disaster The cause of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the change in the engineering design, which resulted in the application of a new design and new materials, effectively altering the stability and ability of the suspension bridge to with stand strong winds (Robison, 1990). The bridge was designed to apply carbon steel plate girders, instead of the traditional open lattice beam trusses that are typically applied underneath the roadbed (Leon & Lienhard, 1993). This simply meant that; as opposed to the earlier bridge designs where the wind would simply pass though the truss beams, the new design meant that the wind would be diverted to above and below the structure. The diversion of the wind above and below the structure meant that the one-half of the central span of the bridge would be moved up, while the other half would be moved downwards (Scot, 2001). The opposite movements of the two-halves of the bridge, while its central part remained still, caused the bridge to vibrate beyond the strength of the vital parts supporting the bridge (suspender cables), causing the bridge to collapse (Billah, 1991). The other cause of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the strong wind that swept the region, which had a very high velocity of about 350 miles per hours (Scot, 2001). This velocity caused high-level oscillations and vibrations that were beyond the tension strength of the suspending cables, causing them to break and the bridge to collapse. The third cause of the collapse of the bridge was the excessive flexibility of the bridge that was based on its new suspension design (Billah, 1991). Finally, the last case of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the human error that was associated with the insufficient testing of the suspension bridge design under conditions of extreme wind conditions, before the design was finally put into actual structure constructions (Robison, 1990). Boston Molasses Disaster On January 15, 1919, a disaster struck the North End neighborhood of Boston, after a molasses storage tank bursts open, causing one of the huge disasters in history, with 21 people killed and 150 other badly injured (Park, 1983). There was a sudden change of temperatures from the previous day, with the temperature on the day of the disasters rising to as high s beyond 40°C. The bursting of the tank, owing to the pressure of the fermented molasses inside that constitutes some ethanol components as well as some other explosive components saw the molasses flood rise to as high as 7.6 meters, while at the same time flowing at a speed of 56 km/h (35 miles per hour) (Puleo, 2004). The overall effect was the destruction of the girders of the adjacent railway, forcing a moving train out of its rail path. Additionally, the high speed flow of the high volume molasses swept off the foundations of the nearby buildings, causing them to crush unprecedentedly (Russell, 2012). Causes of the Boston Molasses Disaster Several factors have been identified as the root causes of the Boston Molasses Disaster, where most of them have been attributed to human engineering errors. The first engineering human error associated with causing the disaster is the poor construction of the molasses storage tank. Despite the suitable design that would have seen the tank hold a large volume of fermenting molasses without bursting out, the construction was done poorly, with the use of steel that was as half as thick, compared to the standard steel that was required to be used in the construction of such a tank (Puleo, 2014). The other human engineering error associated with the construction of the tank was the use of steel that did not have any manganese as required for materials constructing such structures, which made the steel more brittle (Brust & Lund, 1998). The third aspect of the human engineering error was the insufficient testing of the tank after its construction, where the tank would have been filled with water initially to check for possible leaks, before molasses started being stored in the tank (Puleo, 2004). The fourth cause of the disaster is the fact that the human negligence of maintaining the required volume of the stored molasses was neglected, such that the tank was over-filled close to its brim, while the structural specifications required leaving the tank with sufficient space for the fermented gases to circulate above the stored molasses (Brust, & Lund, 1998). Finally, the drastic change in temperatures between the previous day and the day that the disaster occurred also accounts for the factors causing the disaster, since the high increase in temperature to beyond 40°C caused the gaseous and volume pressure within the tank to increase and subsequently cause the bursting of the tank (Park, 1983). Space Shuttle Challenger disaster The spaceship disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, causing the death of all the seven crew members that were on board. The failure of the O-ring seal in one of the solid rock boosters of the spaceship failed to liftoff, allowing the pressurized combusting gas from the inside of the spaceship to access the outside, mix with air and cause the detachment of the crew compartment from the other orbiter (McConnell, 1995). There were some initial problems that were identifiable with the spaceship even before it launched, causing some delays from the scheduled date of January 22 to the January 28 when the launching was eventually done (Lewis, 1988). Additionally, there was bad weather that consistently characterized the launching season starting January 22 until January 27, causing the delay of the launch of the spaceship.’ Causes of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster The adjustments and repairs that were done on the spaceship before it was launched entail the changing and fixing of several switches. Thus, one of the causes of the disaster is the malfunctioning of the switches that were moved during the repairs, where it was later discovers that some of the electrical system switches on the left side of the pilot had moved from their usual launching position (Evans, 2007). The size of the crew compartment was another identified cause of the disaster. The crew compartment was a robust part of the whole spaceship orbiter, such that it was possible for the compartment to disintegrate under the pressure off the combustion that occurred (Huston, 1989). Consequently, the crew compartment disintegrated and fell all the way down into the Atlantic Ocean, where the impact of the compartment and the ocean may have caused the death of the crew, who might have survived even after the disintegration (Vaughan, 1996). References Billah, K. (1991). Resonance, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Failure. American Journal of Physics 59 (2): 118–124. Brust, B. W., & Lund, J. (1998). The great molasses flood. Mahwah, N.J.: Troll Communications. Evans, B. (2007). Space shuttle challenger: ten journeys into the unknown. Praxis Pub Huston, C. (1989). How Children Reacted to Televised Coverage of the Space Shuttle Disaster. Journal of Communication 39 (2), 5-18. Karman, T. (1963). The wind and Beyond. Boston: Little Brown and Company. Leon S. & Lienhard, F. (1993). "Suspension Bridges under the Action of Lateral Forces. Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 98, 1080-1141. Lewis, S. (1988). Challenger: The Final Voyage. Columbia University Press. p. 16. McConnell, M. (1995). Challenger: A Major Malfunction, page 118. Park, E. (1983). Without Warning, Molasses in January Surged Over Boston. Smithsonian 14 (8): 213–230. Puleo, S. (2004). Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. Beacon Press. Puleo, S. (2014). Dark tide: The great molasses flood of 1919. Boston, Mass: Beacon Press. Robison, R. (1990). Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse. In When Technology Fails. Neil Schlager, pp. 18–190. Russell, J. (2012). Boston molasses disaster. S.l.: Book On Demand Ltd. Scot, R. (2001). In the Wake of Tacoma: Suspension Bridges and the Quest for Aerodynamic Stability. American Society of Civil Engineers 1, 6-20. Vaughan, D. (1996). The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture and Deviance at NASA. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Read More