Cases of Collapse of Demountable Grandstands
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 23, Issue 3
Abstract
A significant number of accidents has occurred with demountable grandstands in the past as well as recently. The performance of such structures is the subject of this paper. First, structural details and some structural systems of actual grandstands are presented and discussed. Next, specifics of the design, erection, and inspection process are detailed. Finally, a survey of cases of collapse of demountable grandstands is presented and discussed. Ninety three cases of collapse were found between the years 1889 and 2008, in which more than 85 people died and 6,350 were injured. From these, 35 cases in which information about the causes of collapse were available were selected. An analysis of the causes showed that unexpected or excessive loads were the major contributing cause, followed by problems with the supports, connections, and bracing. Possible measures that could be adopted aimed at minimizing the risk of accidents with these structures are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writers acknowledge the financial support of CNPq-Brazil to carry out this research.
References
A Notícia. (1998). “Three years passed from grandstand fall.” ⟨http://www1.an.com.br/1999/jan/07/0ger.htm⟩ (Apr. 06, 2004) (in Portuguese).
Bachmann, H., et al. (1995). Vibration problems in structures—Practical guidelines, Birkhauser, Basel, Switzerland.
Bolton, A. (1992a). “Fatal mix caused stand fall.” New Civ. Eng., May 14, 5–6.
Bolton, A. (1992b). “Making a stand.” New Civ. Eng., May 14, 14.
BBC News. (2006). “Inquiry into grandstand collapse.” ⟨http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/4759058.stm⟩. (Jul. 14, 2007).
Bonde. (2006). “Bleachers fell and hurt users in Tibagi.” ⟨http://www.bonde.com.br/fich.php?id_bonde=1-3-13-596-20060227&oper=imprimir⟩ (Apr. 28, 2008) (in Portuguese).
British Standards Institute (BSI). (1996). “Loading for buildings—Part 1. Code of practice for dead and imposed loads.” BS 6399, London.
Cambio de Michoacán. (2006). “Circus structure collapsed and part of the bleacher fell.” ⟨http://www.cambiodemichoacan.com.mx/vernota.php?id=38279⟩ (Apr. 29, 2008) (in Spanish).
Daily News. (2000). “15 injured at wedding in grandstand collapse.” ⟨http://www.nydailynews.com./archives/news/2000/01/13/2000-01-13_15_injured_at_wedding_in_gra.html⟩ (Apr. 16, 2008).
Diário de Natal. (2006). “Grandstand structure condemned.” ⟨http://pesquisa.dnonline.com.br/document/?down=173⟩ (Feb. 24, 2007) (in Portuguese).
Diário do Nordeste. (2008). “Decision points use of inadequate materials.” ⟨http://diariodonordeste.globo.com/materia.asp?codigo=519602⟩ (Apr. 28, 2008) (in Portuguese).
Dickie, J. F. (1983). “Demountable grandstands.” Struct. Eng., 61A(3), 81–86.
Folha Online. (2001). “Part of circus’s grandstand in Rio falls and three people are injured.” ⟨htt://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u31134.shtml⟩ (Oct. 15, 2007) (in Portuguese).
Folha Online. (2004). “Grandstand falls and hurts 80 in RS.” ⟨http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/esporte/fk0908200426.htm⟩ (Jul. 7, 2005) (in Portuguese).
Folha Online. (2005). “Secretary of Health confirms 468 wounded in grandstand’s collapse.” ⟨http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u10963.shtml⟩ (May 2, 2008) (in Portuguese).
Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). (2007). Temporary demountable structures: Guidance on procurement, design and use, 3rd Ed., London.
Ji, T., and Ellis, B. R. (1997). “Effective bracing systems for temporary grandstands.” Struct. Eng., 75(6), 95–100.
Kneen, P. W. (1993). “Erection loads in double layered spaceframe roof structures.” Proc., 5th Int. Symp. on Tubular Structures, Nottingham, Spon, London, 582–588.
Littler, J. D. (1996). “Measuring the dynamic response of temporary grandstands.” Proc., Structural Dynamics—EURODYN’96, Florence, Italy, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 907–913.
Marinho, I. J. P., Vaz, L. E., and Pimentel, R. L. (2006). “Optimization of temporary grandstands through finite element analysis.” Rev. Sul-Amer. Eng. Est., 3(1), 37–53 (in Portuguese).
NCE News. (1996). “Hefty fines for Earls Court stand collapse.” New Civ. Eng., June 27, 5.
NewspaperARCHIVE.com. (2007). Heritage Microfilm, ⟨http://www.newspaperarchive.com⟩ (Feb.–Apr. 2007).
New York Times. (1992). “Temporary stands banned by FIFA.” ⟨http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DC143BF934A35756C0A964958260⟩ (Apr. 23, 2008).
Oliver, A. (1994). “Stand modification blamed for Earls Court collapse.” New Civ. Eng., October 20, 4.
Pavic, A., Yu, C. H., Brownjohn, J., and Reynolds, P. (2002). “Verification of the existence of human-induced horizontal forces due to vertical jumping.” Proc., 20th Int. Modal Analysis Conf., Los Angeles, Society for Experimental Mechanics, Bethel, Conn., 120–126.
Sim, J., Blakeborough, A., and Williams, M. (2006). “Modelling effects of passive crowds on grandstand vibration.” Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng., Struct. Build., 159(5), 261–272.
Smith, J. W. (2002). “Human-induced vibrations.” Dynamic loading and design of structures, A. J., Kappos, ed., Spon, London.
Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS). (1997). “Structural safety 1994–96: Review and recommendations.” 11th Rep. of SCOSS, London.
Terra. (2003). “Grandstand of the rodeo gave way.” ⟨http://noticias.terra.com.br⟩ (Jul. 17, 2005) (in Portuguese).
Terra. (2006). “Grandstand fall hurts 80 in Ecuador.” ⟨http://noticias.terra.com.br/mundo/interna/0,OI1101772-EI294,00.html⟩ (Feb. 24, 2007) (in Portuguese).
Todo Dia. (2004). “Force of rain.” ⟨http://www2.uol.com.br/tododia/retros04.htm⟩ (Mar. 16, 2007) (in Portuguese).
Workcover. (2001). “Seating firm fined $40,000 after stand collapse injures theatergoers.” ⟨http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/MediaResources/MediaReleases/2001/Pages/seating_firm_fined_after_stand_collapse_injures_theatregoers.aspx⟩ (Mar. 16, 2007).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 23 • Issue 3 • June 2009
Pages: 151 - 159
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: May 6, 2008
Accepted: Nov 5, 2008
Published online: Mar 11, 2009
Published in print: Jun 2009
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.