The Causes of Building Collapse - Research Proposal Example

TITLE: Building Collapse Date: November 19, 2008. A. Introduction: The subject of the building collapse is selected for the assignment as the phenomenon is correlated with the economic losses depending on the size of the building, duration of the collapse process and severity of the causing agent for the building collapse. Throughout the world hundreds of incidents are taking place of the building collapse on annual basis and their occurrence has resulted in economic and human losses(1). The subject is of special interest for the policy makers at the top hierarchical level at the central government’s office, for the non governmental agencies to evaluate and utilize the available data for making their strategies to cope with the emerging situations relating to the building collapse and for all other stakeholders to deal with the issue as per demand of their respective programs, strategies in line with their missions. The current study will help in the understanding of the issue at its micro level and will fruitful in the formulation of future strategies to minimize the occurrence of building collapse through the adoption of necessary measures to reduce the happenings of the uncalled building collapses as is occurring in majority of the cases(2). Buildings are the structures designed to support certain loads without any deforming impacts and maintain their originality with their accessories and fixtures. The structures have their different dimensions on the basis of their designs, purposes and locations(3). The loads are the weights of objects and the people who occupies or use the buildings to fulfill their material needs for a specific period of time. The loads of people and objects are called as live loads. The weight of snow and rain and the pressure of wind combine to form dead loads. The strength of the buildings depends on the number of floors, rigidity in the structure and the designs of the buildings especially that of a roof. The impacts of weather and other physical conditions are regulated through the specific design of the roofs. In case of multi stories buildings the strength of the building is maintained through the use of pillars and beams with specific width and strength depending on the number of stories. In case of tall buildings, the roofs have little importance in the overall building structure and the support of such buildings is through the design and drawings with the use of proper material like steel, iron, aluminum, etc. Tall buildings like long bridges are subject to catastrophic collapse with men and material loses depending on the agents and specific time of collapse(4). The buildings collapse are closely associated with the causes of collapse, severity of the cause, duration of the collapsing process, size of the buildings and the timings for the collapse process to occur. The building’s collapse can be minimized with the use of specific techniques depending on the location of the building, age of the building, the external neighboring buildings and the agents responsible for the buildings’ collapse. The building collapse is the result of the happenings of the phenomenon due to the occurrence of one or more causes of the building collapse(5). These causes are the outcome of the failure of the observation of the building codes and design and drawings which are necessary and vital qualitative requirements for the physical health of the buildings for their existence in their original and designed shape. The study is essential to understand the subject as the occurrence of the building collapse is having its economic significance for all the major stake holders to realign their programs to cater the future needs, to understanding the causes of building collapse relating to their structures, designs and height of the buildings. The identification of causes of the building collapse are necessary to understand the subject for evolving strategies at the top management level to minimize the prevailing trends, reducing the losses associated with the issue and to take preventive measures to reduce the degree of building collapse in future(6). The study has been conducted on the basis of hypothesis that building collapse are the direct results of the execution of the causes of the building collapse .There are numerous causes of building collapse, however, six of them have been highlighted in the study as Unexpected failure modes, Foundation failure, Faulty construction, Bad design, Extraordinary loads, Combination of causes that may result in the buildings’ collapse. B.Methodology: The study has been designed to understand the mechanism of building collapse, to highlight the various causes and their remedial measures. The study is conducted through the analysis of available material on the issue and its relevance with the subject. A set of recommendations have been included for the policy makers and for the top hierarchy to take care of the issue while designing future strategies to deal with the subject, effectively(7). The research has been conducted through the analysis of the material already available on the issue, its relevance with the subject and future directions for lowering the level of economic losses associated with the subject. The whole process will provide guidelines for the policy makers to formulate rehabilitation of the affected population associated with the issue directly or indirectly. These causes of buildings’ collapse results in the partial or complete collapse of the buildings depending on the severity of the cause. These potential causes may influence the buildings collapse individually, collectively, or combination of two or more causes at the same time. The end result of all these causes may lead to the final result in then form of buildings’ collapse. The sufferings of the population linked with the building collapse have been identified with the analysis of print material relating to the subject, these sufferings of various nature like loss of material, loss of infrastructure, de shaping the buildings as a direct result of the building collapse, loss of human and animal life and social and psychological impacts of the concerned population(8). Building collapse is associated with the damage or demolition of the structures .These structures are having their sociological, economic and psychological cost which has to be born by the concerned population. These costs are having an association with the phenomenon of the building collapse .The calculations of the economic losses is on the basis of the following formula; Economic cost = cost of the existing building +cost of the debris to be removed+ cost of the new building +qualitative cost Cost of the existing building is calculated on the basis of the original cost at the time of the erection of the building and subtracting depreciation factor from the original cost depending on the life of the building. Similarly other costs are determined for the fixation of the overall cost the building(9). During the conduction of the study the issues regarding collection of relevant material proved to be critical as a lot of material, majority of the material is relating to the current events of the building collapses are available. The issue was solved with proper focusing on the core issue only with its all major and minor details. No survey was conducted for the collection of the data for the completion of the study as all the relevant material was found from the print media; the same has been analyzed and evaluated for the submission of the paper. The methodology adopted will facilitate the future researchers to understand the subject thoroughly with the background knowledge as incorporated in the study. C. Results: The Causes of Building Collapse The causes of building collapse can be classified into six main categories. The categorization will help to make proper analysis of the buildings’ collapse. These six causes are as under: a. Unexpected failure modes. b. Foundation failure. c. Faulty construction. d. Bad design. e. Extraordinary loads. f. Combination of causes that may result in the buildings’ collapse. D.Analysis a. The importance of building structures in the process of building collapse The buildings are constructed with the use of different types of inputs including men, material, money and machinery in accordance with the approved plan of the buildings. A deficiency in any described input may result in the shape of buildings’ collapse. There is a trend to use various types of substitutes during the execution and post execution period of the building’s construction (10). For example use of salty sand to make concrete and its percentage with other major inputs like cement and crush and similarly use of inferior quality of steel as an input, bad riveting are even improper tightening torque of boats and nuts, massive use of the drift pin, bad welds and other inputs with low quality may lead to buildings’ collapse. The cause may be averted with proper supervision and reporting to the higher authorities as feed back to take strategic decisions for taking timely decisions in favor of the buildings constructions (11). The buildings are constructed with suitable structures for maintaining the durability and strengths of the buildings. The buildings are designed while considering the location of the buildings, size of the buildings, direction of the north and south, number of floors. These floors are supported with the help of beams and pillars depending on the quantity of load which the building has to with stand. The size of the beams and the pillars and the quality of the physical material used during the construction process determine the strength of the building. Any crack in the pillar or in the beam has the potential to lead towards the buildings collapse. The beam may split into two or more beams longitudinally or by the top of the beam deflecting to one side or the other or shearing of the buildings. It has been observed that a beam will observe shearing or buckling before its breaking into two or more parts depending on the severity of the buildings collapse. The beams are constructed with a hollow tube for making an efficient column or beam. It is the material on the surface that has the potential to block bending or buckling process. A column that is modified from a compact cross sectional structure like a cylinder to an extended cross sectional structure in the form of a pipe have the ability to support the same load per unit area with greater resistance to the buckling process. A beams is supportive structure in its compression on the on side and tension on the other however, a pipe cannot buckle to one side or the other side of the structure. It has been observed that when a pipe crushes inward, it results in reducing the cross section to a line and bends easily. Therefore, it is recommended that the tubes may be supported against buckling. Such types of tubes have a very high ratio of strength to weight of the structures and similarly strength to cost of the buildings (12). Earthquakes may result foundation problems if moist filled land liquefies the basis of the buildings. Therefore, it is recommended that an extraordinary care may be taken through the study of topographic structures and climates of the region where the building has to be constructed. The executing staff and the building engineers are primary stake holders to take care of the designs of the buildings with their proper monitoring systems. The administration of the firm may concentrate on the executives to take care of this sole segment for safe and sound erection of the durable buildings. In view of the above it can safely be stated that beams and columns are essential building structures. Their proper drawings with specific scale, use of the material with right proportion and lengths are critical factors for determining the durability and strengths of the buildings in the normal geophysical environments. The physical terrain with potential building threats needs extra care while determining the size, drawings and construction of the supportive structures like beams and columns in the buildings. Any neglect to these critical areas may lead to drastic results in the shape of building collapse. b. Importance of Steel Skeletons in the Buildings’ Structures Buildings are constructed with the utilization of inputs like men, material, money and machinery in lines with the approved blue prints for the construction of the buildings. All these inputs move through the execution process and finally are shaped in the form of a desirous structure that is a building. The whole mechanism can be illustrated with the help of the following drawing: Tall buildings are constructed with a purpose to accommodate maximum space in its vertical form. Use of raw materials including rigid steel skeleton, sheath in the lightest materials to keep out the extreme weather conditions help in the erection of tall buildings. These steel structures are utilized with proper specifications and gauge depending on the size of the buildings, external physical conditions, geographic locations of the building and the availability of the material in the market and its alternatives. These steel structures protect the buildings against the extreme weather conditions through the provisions of a tough, integrated into a single structure and a combination of all other related materials including iron wires and nails. These building structures provide strength to the buildings against the threats of the building collapse. When the lower supports of a steel skeleton are destroyed through any physical or natural means, the weight of the building moves towards the lower side and the upper parts have a tendency to descend slowly into the piles of debris and finally in the shape of building’s destruction. The buildings with steel skeletons can easily be destroyed if required to alter the physical buildings structures. On the other hand, Monolithic reinforced concrete buildings or difficult to demolish if required by the authorities to make any alteration in the building structures for catering the emerging future needs. Use of low quality steels may result into the collapse of buildings in the subsequent period after the completion of erection process. E. Conclusion and evaluation: Buildings are facing building collapse; these collapses are resulting in the form of economic, social and psychological losses. The building collapses are the results of a number of potential causes .these cause, and recommendations for the control of each cause have been described as under, a. Unexpected Failure Modes Unexpected failure modes for the building collapse are the most complex and complicated reasons for building collapse and there are many examples have been noticed due to this sole reason of the building collapse. Any type of new or old building structure is subjected to unexpected failure modes. For example the adoption of suspension bridges as an answer to the large bridging gaps .However, in spite of all these measures sad experiences have been noticed as twisting and galloping as supporting cables have not been found reliable in the prevention of bridges collapse. For example Ellet’s bridge at Wheeling had collapsed in the 1840s and similarly Tacoma Narrows Bridge had collapsed in the 1940s due to unexpected failure modes. The only option available to arrest the trend of building collapse due to unexpected failure modes is the application of all the building standards with the observation of their optimum building codes and standards. b. Foundation failure The strength of buildings lies on the quality of basis of the buildings with proper widths and depths. Bad foundations have the potential to damage well designed and well constructed buildings as the durability and strength of the buildings is positively correlated with the quality and strengths of their basis. The building structures are responsible for the carrying the loads of the buildings and the earth beneath it may only provide only a space where the structures are being erected with proper designs and drawings. There are many examples of buildings with bad foundations as Leaning Tower of Pisa and the old armory in St. Paul, Minnesota which sank twenty feet deep or more into soft clay where the building was constructed. The bad foundations of the buildings have the potential to displace the structure with alter stress distribution at a significant level. This type of problem has been noticed in the railway bridges in America where the structures have been found displaced due to bad foundations. The trend can be prevented with proper focusing on the quality of the foundation with proper selection of place and depth of the foundations. c. Faulty construction The most important cause of buildings collapse that may result in the structural failure of the buildings is the faulty construction of the buildings. The buildings are constructed on the basis of approved designs at appropriate scales. Each structure is constructed on the basis of the architectural design with proper manifestations. Buildings are inspected by the building inspector during the pre execution, execution and post execution periods. It is the sole responsibility of the building supervisors to examine the quality and quantity of construction at each major milestone and non reporting of any major deviation has the potential to cause in the form of buildings’ collapse. d.Bad design Buildings are constructed with the help of designs and structures with proper specifications. Each design has its merits and demerits depending on the size of the building, location of the buildings and the texture of the place where the building has to be constructed. Collection of data, its evaluation and formulation of designs are the key factors that may lead to the construction of buildings with their proper durability and strengths. e. Extraordinary loads. The buildings are constructed with the objectives to with stand extra ordinary loads which may arise at any time during the execution of the construction process or post execution period during the life of the buildings. Extraordinary loads may be natural such as in the form of unusual rains, heavy snowfalls or the shaking of building structures as a result of the winds of the hurricanes and the earthquakes. Flimsy flexible structures are recommended to avoid destruction in an earthquake and in such cases a solid masonry building would be destroyed as these buildings are inflexible in their construction designs. f. Combination of causes that may result in the buildings’ collapse The causes of buildings’ collapse as described in the preceding paragraphs include bad design, faulty construction, foundation failure, extraordinary loads and unexpected failure modes. All these factors have the potential to result in the shape of building collapse. The combination of all these factors may work together for intensifying the process of buildings’ collapse. These factors may work in isolation, in combination of two or more or all these factors together at the same time to show their impacts in the form of buildings’ collapse. The situation may be averted with the adoption of building codes and regulations in its complete shape. References: 1. Blank, Alan; McEvoy, Michael; Plank, Roger (1993). Architecture and Construction in Steel. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0419176608. 2. D. Rowland - T.N. Howe: Vitruvius. Ten Books on Architecture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, ISBN 0-521-00292-3 3. Banister Fletcher, A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method 4. Françoise Choay, Alberti and Vitruvius, editor, Joseph Rykwert, Profile 21, Architectural Design, Vol 49 No 5-6 5. John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture, G. Allen (1880), reprinted Dover, (1989) ISBN 0-486-26145-X 6. Heyman, Jacques (1998). Structural Analysis: A Historical Approach. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521622492. 7. Le Corbusier, Towards a New Architecture, Dover Publications(1985). ISBN 0-486-25023-7 8. Rondanini, Nunzia Architecture and Social Change Heresies II, Vol. 3, No. 3, New York, Neresies Collective Inc., 1981. 9. Holm, Ivar (2006). Ideas and Beliefs in Architecture and Industrial design: How attitudes, orientations and underlying assumptions shape the built environment. Oslo School of Architecture and Design. ISBN 8254701741. 10. Cronin, Jeff (2005). "S. Carolina Court to Decide Legality of Design-Build Bids". Construction Equipment Guide. Retrieved on 2008-01-04. 11. Mitchell, James Kenneth (1993), Fundamentals of Soil Behavior (2nd ed.), John Wiley and Sons, ISBN 0471856401  12. Shroff, Arvind V.; Shah, Dhananjay L. (2003), Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9058092356 Read More