Using Failure Case Studies to Teach Reinforced Concrete Design

The study of failures, particularly in a design course, can help teach students how to ensure the satisfactory performance of buildings and bridges. Some of the shear design provisions in the current ACI 318 Building Code can be traced back to two collapses of Air Force warehouses in the mid-1950s. Three building collapses in the 1970s and 1980s showed the importance of punching shear. There is also much to be learned from reinforced concrete building performance under extreme conditions, such as the terrorist attacks on the Oklahoma City Murrah Building and the Pentagon (9/11). Another classic case is the collapse of a major section of the Ronan Point apartment towers in the UK in 1968, illustrating the need to properly tie precast building elements together. The relatively recent collapse of the Laval, Quebec concrete bridge abutments in Canada shows the importance of providing continuity of reinforcement.