Bridge failures, forensic structural engineering and recommendations for design of robust structures

Scientific paper - Review paper

• Author: Ivana Milić
• Author: Ana Mandić Ivanković
• Author: Anton Syrkov
• Author: Dominik Skokandić
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Civil Engineering
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: TECHNICAL SCIENCES; Civil Engineering

Abstract (croatian)

A review of forensic structural engineering, which is a strategy that follows after bridge failure, is presented in the paper. A detailed statistical analysis, and worldwide systematisation of available bridge failure data for the 1966-2020 period, are given. More than six hundred cases of partial or full collapse of bridges are analysed in detail, and causes that have led to their failure are examined. Failure of each of these bridges was in most cases not caused by a single factor, i.e. the main cause was most often just a trigger in the cause-and-effect sequence of events that contributed to such failure. Consequently, in addition to main causes, the influence of human factor, as a precondition leading to failure, is considered in each of the analysed cases. Types of progressive collapse, being a critical structural failure mechanism, are described in the second part of the paper, with an emphasis on bridges. An overview of the theory of structural robustness is also given. Design guidelines and approaches, aimed at preventing catastrophic failure and creating more robust structures, are presented. Methods for achieving robustness in the design of new bridges and in the strengthening of the existing ones are also described, and practical real-life examples are provided.

• Keywords (croatian): forensic engineering; bridge failure; progressive collapse; robustness; extreme actions
• Language: croatian
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Review paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Građevinar
• Numbering: vol. 73, no. 7, pp. 717-736
• e-ISSN: 1333-9095
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.14256/JCE.3234.2021
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:237:849214
• Publication: 2021-08-22
• Document URL: https://hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/380902
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2024-06-06 10:14:43