Causes and Impact of Structure Failure in South Korea - Case Study Example

CAUSES AND IMPACT OF STRUCTURE FAILURE (SMPOONG DEPARTMENT STORE IN SOUTH KOREA) Name: Course: Instructor: Date: There is nothing devastating to both the construction engineer and the client when a structure that has eaten up countless resources eventually comes down upon completion. On 29th, July 1995, the owner and the chief architect of the Sampoong department stores in South Korea were hit by the harsh reality of the failure of the store. The catastrophic failure left over 550 people dead while 937 sustained injuries of ranging severity. One of the reasons given to explain the failure of the building is that the construction team did not adhere to structural precautions in the course of erecting the structure. Apparently, the structure was approved as having satisfactorily met all the requirements after incidences of corruptible engagements between the construction team and the various oversight authorities. (Gardner, Jungsuck, Huh, & Chung, 2002). Each building is designed and built to support a certain weight of load beyond which deformation occurs. For instance, the weight supported by structures is classified as live weight and dead weight. Each building therefore has its maximum live and dead weight which ought not to be exceeded as the risk of failure and collapsing increases with every extra weight added beyond the maximum limit. Live weight is a collective term used to refer to the weight of people and objects, weight of rainwater, wind pressure and even snow on the building. (Wearner, & Philip, 2000). Dead weight on the other hand refers to weight of the material used to construct the building and includes the weight of concrete, steel and any other material within the structure of the building (Wearne et al. 2000). Causes of Sampoong Department Failure South Korea has been rated as one of the developing economies in Asia. As a result, the country experienced construction of numerous structures in attempt to create sites for different businesses and other economic activities. Despite the presence of several international investors, the government of South Korean sought to provide and protect employment opportunities for its citizens. In this regard, most international companies that showed interest in working in South Korea were denied access to construction contracts and preference was given to local firms in South Korea. (Gardner et al. 2002). Due to the hurry to complete projects and bid for upcoming ones, most local construction companies in South Korea did not adhere to the quality requirements of the structures they worked on. Similarly, there was an evident increase in corruption incidences involving local construction firms and the various supervision and oversight authorities. For instance, quality and safety adherence certificates for most completed buildings were given and commissioning done, not after supervision and evaluation of the completed structures but after the architects and project owners paid up some agreed amount (American Concrete Institute , 2007). Corruption and creed therefore took over and controlled the South Korean construction industry in the 21st century as opposed to expertise knowledge and skills. The Sampoong department store was built by two different contractors who independently to complete the joint project. For instance, Woosung Construction Company won the initial tender to construct the building but the company was later dropped due to what was established to be the failure to incorporate into the initial plan new adjustments as suggested by the project owner. While Woosung had completed the foundation and the lower levels, the management came up with modifications in the initial plan and wanted to change the building from an office block onto an open-plan department store. (Gardner et al. 2002). While the plan consisted of four floors, a fifth floor was incorporated into the plan to serve as a roller-skating rink, although the floor was instead turned into a Korean traditional Korean restaurant. Woosung rejected the modifications on the initial plan on grounds that the foundation, which had already been completed, would not sufficiently withstand the additional dead weight added onto the structure. Hence, the project owner therefore scouted and contracted another company which agreed to take over from Woosung on condition that it would incorporate all the suggested changes in the building. After completion of the building, it looked totally different from the original structure plan. It was at this point that the project owner chose to bribe the oversight authorities and obtain clearance for the building, even when there were doubts over the structure’s ability to support the extra dead weight and probable chances of failure. (Gardner, Jungsuck, Huh, &, Chung, 2002) According to Professor Lan Chung, a civil and structural engineer at the University of Dan Kook and Professor Oan Chul Chol, the head of department of Architecture at the University of Soongisil, who led the investigation into the cause of the failure of the building, the initial mistake, as established after the collapse, lied in the location of the site for the project; Sampoong department store was built on a former landfill. The team led by the two professors also established that the building had been built as a flat-slab structure; a structure without steel frameworks or cross beams and hence lacks a defined form of load transmission. The above statement led to a conclusion that the building had been inappropriately built. Upon carrying out investigations into the materials used for constructing the building, the team led by professor Chong and Professor Chol also discovered that the building had not only been built on a former landfill but its foundation lied on an underground rock, the reason as to why the foundation remained intact despite the building’s collapse. The team also explained that concrete used to construct the building was appropriate and hence cold not have contributed to failure of the structure. The investigating team therefore chose to conduct further reviews on the structural plan as they sought to find the exact cause of failure. The investigating team discovered that most faults were evident in the structural plan. For instance, the decision to convert the initial plan of an office block into a department store required the use of an escalator on each floor. As a result, the second contractor had to cut holes on the slab of each floor to create space for the escalator, a move that significantly weakened the structure of each slab (Gardner, Jungsuck, Huh, &, Chung, 2002). Initially, the floor columns had been design to measure between thirty one and thirty five inches thick. However, the column was significantly reduced to a thickness of twenty four inches so as to accommodate the changes as well as meet the various requirements for fire safety regulations. Hence, the resultant large spacing from the reduced column sizes was meant to increase the floor size (Wearne, 2000). According to the findings and conclusions of the team investigating the cause of failure of the department stores, the addition of the fifth floor that had not been initially included in the plan was cited as the main reason behind the collapse. In fact, the team sided with the initial contractor, Woosung Construction Company, which had refused to incorporate the changes and was resultantly dismissed from the site. According to the findings, the addition of the fifth floor resulted in extra weight on the structural frame thereby exerting resultant more pressure to the lower floors (Lim, 2009). In the same regard, the decision to convert the usage and function of the fifth floor from the initial skating risk into a restaurant resulted in an extra weight on the structure. In addition, the overall live weight of people in the restaurant, the various pieces of furniture and restaurant equipment also added a significant extra weight on the structure. I fact, to cater for this extra live weight, the contractor had constructed an extra feet of thickness o the slab of the fifth floor Gardner, Jungsuck, Huh, &, Chung, 2002). Columns of the fifth floor were also found not to be in line with other columns in the structure and hence misalignment. This also led to the transfer of load from the column to the slab through other columns instead of the weight being transferred from column to column. The roof of the building had also been made to support heating and cooling system despite the fact that it looked weak from the design to support such system. In order to minimize noise from the nearby skyscrapers, the department store had air conditioning system on the roof. However, after the department store was occupied, it was discovered that the same air conditioning system was a source of noise and therefore needed to be removed. The management of the building did not seek professional services when uninstalling the system but instead chose to use unqualified personal. During the removal, cracks were created on the fifth floor slab as well as other parts of the building, further weakening the structure. The effects of the cracks have been illustrated in figure 1 bellow. In the process of removing the air conditioning system, column 5E was subsequently damaged as a result of the downward forces that were created in the structure of the department store. The effect of the removal of the air conditioner of column 5E has been illustrated in figure 2 bellow. Even before its removal, the air conditioner had caused significant damage on the building. For instance, under normal operation, the air conditioner led t distribution of vibrations in the already cracked roof, undersized column of the fifth floor and the whole building. The vibrations continuously weakened the building as it caused widening of the cracks in column 5E (Gardner, Jungsuck, Huh, &, Chung, 2002). Just before the building came down trampling, complete separation of column 5E from the plate of the fifth floor was observed a few hours before the building collapsed. Figure 1: Forces of moving air conditioning units (Copyright Chris Mclean) Figure 2: Damaged column five (Copyright Chris McLean) Figure 3: Vibration of AC units causing damage on column Five (Copyright Chris McLean) Hence, the building collapsed as a result of punching shear failure. This has been illustrated in figure 4 below. Under the above condition, the overall weight of the structure combined with the force of the falling fifth floor was too much for the first slab to withstand. Hence, due to punching shear, more pressure developed within the already weakened structure leading to its fall. Figure 4: punching shear on column 5 (Copyright Carl Peterlin) Impacts of Sampoong Failure Impacts of the failure of Sampoong Department Store The failure of the store resulted in death of over 500 people while another 900 sustained injuries of varying severity; from bruises and broken limbs to skull injuries and amputated limbs. The incidence also led to a [public outcry and complains about the quality of buildings in South Korea. As a result, the government was put under pressure from the public to examine the quality of structures that had been built around that time. Out of the survey conducted by the government, it was discovered that 14% of all storied buildings in South Korea were unsafe and required demolition, 84% needed urgent repairs and only 2% were found to be safe for human settlement (Murphy, 2015). The survey also led to prosecution of various managers and contractors who had colluded with other government authorities and bribed their way to get certification for unsafe buildings. To the larger society of South Korea, the effects of corruption were once again laid bare through the tragic loss of hundreds of lives in a single incident. Conclusion From the findings of the team investigating into the cause of failure of Sampoong department store, the collapse of the building could have been prevented. In fact, the building could be in existent had the management followed the initial plan and stuck with the first construction company. The addition of the fifth floor, for whatever selfish reasons, was the major cause of failure of the building. Hence, to save more innocent lives, the responsible oversight authorities should carefully scrutinize the available structures as well as prosecute anyone found engaging in corruption at the expense of other people’s dear lives. References American Concrete Institute. (2007). ACI structural journal. Detroit, Mich: American Concrete Institute. Cobin, J. M. (2001). Building regulation, market alternatives, and allodial policy. San Jose: Authors choice Press. Gardner, N.J., Jungsuck, Huh, &, Chung, Lan (2002). "Lessons from the Sampoong Department Store Collapse." Cement and Concrete Composites, 24(6), 523-529 In Murphy, C., In Gardoni, P., In Bashir, H., In Harris, C. E., & In Masad, E. (2015). Engineering ethics for a globalized world. Lim, Y. (2009). Technology and productivity: The Korean way of learning and catching up. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: MIT Press. Neale, B. S., Institution of Civil Engineers, International Conference on Forensic Engineering, & International Conference on Forensic Engineering. (2001). Forensic engineering: The investigation of failures ; proceedings of the Second International Conference on Forensic Engineering organized by the Institution of Civil Engineers and held in London, UK, on 12 - 13 November 2001. London: Thomas Telford. Sigma Theta Tau., & Sigma Theta Tau International. (2005). Reflections. Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau. United States. (2007). Daily report. Washington, D.C.: The Service. Wearne, &, Phillip. Collapse When Buildings Fall Down. New York: TV, 2000. Print. Wearne, P. (2000). 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For instance, quality and safety adherence certificates for most completed buildings were given and commissioning done, not after supervision and evaluation of the completed structures but after the architects and project owners paid up some agreed amount (American Concrete Institute , 2007). Corruption and creed therefore took over and controlled the South Korean construction industry in the 21st century as opposed to expertise knowledge and skills. The Sampoong department store was built by two different contractors who independently to complete the joint project.

For instance, Woosung Construction Company won the initial tender to construct the building but the company was later dropped due to what was established to be the failure to incorporate into the initial plan new adjustments as suggested by the project owner. While Woosung had completed the foundation and the lower levels, the management came up with modifications in the initial plan and wanted to change the building from an office block onto an open-plan department store. (Gardner et al. 2002).

While the plan consisted of four floors, a fifth floor was incorporated into the plan to serve as a roller-skating rink, although the floor was instead turned into a Korean traditional Korean restaurant. Woosung rejected the modifications on the initial plan on grounds that the foundation, which had already been completed, would not sufficiently withstand the additional dead weight added onto the structure. Hence, the project owner therefore scouted and contracted another company which agreed to take over from Woosung on condition that it would incorporate all the suggested changes in the building.

After completion of the building, it looked totally different from the original structure plan. It was at this point that the project owner chose to bribe the oversight authorities and obtain clearance for the building, even when there were doubts over the structure’s ability to support the extra dead weight and probable chances of failure. (Gardner, Jungsuck, Huh, &, Chung, 2002) According to Professor Lan Chung, a civil and structural engineer at the University of Dan Kook and Professor Oan Chul Chol, the head of department of Architecture at the University of Soongisil, who led the investigation into the cause of the failure of the building, the initial mistake, as established after the collapse, lied in the location of the site for the project; Sampoong department store was built on a former landfill.

The team led by the two professors also established that the building had been built as a flat-slab structure; a structure without steel frameworks or cross beams and hence lacks a defined form of load transmission. The above statement led to a conclusion that the building had been inappropriately built. Upon carrying out investigations into the materials used for constructing the building, the team led by professor Chong and Professor Chol also discovered that the building had not only been built on a former landfill but its foundation lied on an underground rock, the reason as to why the foundation remained intact despite the building’s collapse.

The team also explained that concrete used to construct the building was appropriate and hence cold not have contributed to failure of the structure. The investigating team therefore chose to conduct further reviews on the structural plan as they sought to find the exact cause of failure. The investigating team discovered that most faults were evident in the structural plan. For instance, the decision to convert the initial plan of an office block into a department store required the use of an escalator on each floor.

As a result, the second contractor had to cut holes on the slab of each floor to create space for the escalator, a move that significantly weakened the structure of each slab (Gardner, Jungsuck, Huh, &, Chung, 2002). Initially, the floor columns had been design to measure between thirty one and thirty five inches thick.

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