CEG562

FORENSIC ENGINEERING
REVIEW QUESTION: CHAPTER 2
Prepared by: Ms Khairul Afinawati Hashim_Dec2020

Question 1
Sampoong Departmental Store collapse is one of the progressive failures happened for a
building. Discuss the meaning of progressive collapse in your own word. Give another
example of progressive collapse case besides this case other than this case.

Answer:
Failure cases with progressive collapse:
- Skyline Plaza
- Ronan Point Apartments
- 2000 Commonwealth Avenue
- L’ Ambiance Plaza
- Tropacana Casino Parking Garage
- World Trade Center Tower
- Sampoong Department Store

Sample answer:
Skyline Plaza
In Bailey's Crossroads, VA, a large apartment complex called Skyline Plaza was under
construction. Workers were busy pouring concrete on an apartment building in the complex
and at 2:30pm on March 2, 1973, a large progressive collapse occurred in the center of the
building, collapsing each floor from the top down. The root cause of the problem is said to be
due to the premature removal of forms and shoring for slabs in the vicinity and specific
columns on the 23rd floor. Four key concrete columns along with the concrete slab did not
reach their desired strength and failed, causing the floor above to collapse onto the floor
below, bringing a large center portion of the structure to the ground.

Question 2
Sampoong Departmental Store collapse is one of the progressive failures happened for a
building. During the investigation, the forensic engineers had pointed out some hypotheses
regarding the causes of the tragedy. Describe THREE (3) hypotheses proposed by the forensic
engineers.

Answer:
THREE (3) hypotheses that was considered by forensic engineer:
1. Terrorist attack
2. Gas explosion
3. Bad design

PG. 1
Question 3
Sampoong Departmental Store collapse is one of the progressive failures happened for a
building. With the aid of sketches, explain the improvement that can be made on the design
of the building to avoid this tragedy from happening again.

Answer:
Improvement that can be made on the design:
1. Provide extra reinforcements between the column and slab
2. Provide drop panel

Question 4
The failure mechanism in steel structures can be quite complex. With the aid of a diagram,
describe the transition of steel from ductile to brittle. Relate this failure phenomenon to 1-
57 Farina Overpass, Illinois, United States case study. (DEC16)

Answer:
With the aid of a diagram, describe the transition of steel from ductile to brittle:
- At low temperatures some metals that would be ductile at room temperature become
brittle. This is known as a ductile to brittle transition.

Relate this failure phenomenon to 1-57 Farina Overpass, Illinois, United States case study:
- An interior girder of this bridge fractured during the winter of 1976-1977 resulting
from fatigue cracks initiated at plug weld sites in the tension side of the web to
correct for miss-drilled bolt holes during fabrication. The fracture initiation in the
failed beam was a result of the presence of repair plug welds. Although the failure
required a low temperature and a material that would sustain brittle fracture
propagation, the brittle fracture would not have occurred if the defective plug
welds had not been present. The retention of the open holes or holes filled with
high strength bolts would have been a much better solution and would not have
resulted in the brittle fracture.

PG. 2
Question 5
In 2007, due to undersized gusset plates at a particular node location on the main truss, the
Interstate 35W (I-35W) bridge in Minnesota, USA, collapsed, resulting in 13 deaths and more
than 100 injuries. This catastrophic accident brought various design issues of gusset plate
connections back to the fore. Observe the gusset plate as shown in Figure and suggest TWO
(2) failure modes that can occur in the gusset plate. Explain your answer with the aid of
sketches. (JAN18)

Answer:
Block shear failure is a limit state that combines tension failure on one plane and shear failure
on a perpendicular plane. Two possible failure modes can develop:
1. In the first, rupture occurs along the net tension plane and full yield develops along
the gross shear plane.
2. The second failure mechanism assumes that rupture occurs along the net shear plane
while full yield develops along the gross tension plane.

Question 6
Corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete is a complex electrochemical process that can
result in severe damage to a reinforced concrete (RC) structure. Compare the corrosion rate
for RC structure built onshore and offshore. Justify your answer. (JUL17)

Answer:
Offshore structure corrodes faster than onshore structure due to high chloride ions content
in seawater. The intrusion of chloride ions into reinforced concrete can cause steel corrosion
if oxygen and moisture are also available to sustain the reaction. Seawater also contain
sulphate which can attack the concrete and cause loss of concrete strength.

PG. 3
Question 7

A steel structure may experience creep and fatigue during its design life. Propose TWO (2)
monitoring tools to detect the creep and fatigue behaviour in a steel structure building.
Suggest a workable solution for fire protection of a steel structure.

Answer:
Suggest a workable solution for fire protection for steel structure:
- Spray the steel structure with fireproofing. It can be sprayed on steel to provide heat
resistance.
- The most common way to provide such protection is by spraying low-density fiber or
cementitious compounds.

Question 8
Offshore structures such as oil rigs are prone to various physical and chemical attacks that
can lead to the damages of the steel structure which will affect the structural integrity.
Suggest TWO (2) solutions to minimize the corrosion effects on the offshore structures.

Answer:
To minimize the problems on the marine/ offshore structures:
1. For physical stresses, can use rubber liner around marine structure to absorb impact
from ship.
2. For chemical stresses, use paint or galvanized steel for steel marine structure. For
reinforced concrete structure, use special cement to combat sulphate and chloride
attack.
3. Regular inspection using ultrasonic testing.

Question 9
A huge concrete structure is to be built in a four-season country. The temperature climate
can cause problems to the concrete structure. Discuss the effects of the wide temperature
changes on the concrete structure.

Answer:
Freeze-thaw effect
Concrete is a porous material and will absorb water, either into pores, which always exist
within the cement matrix, or into previously formed structural or shrinkage cracks. As is well-
known, the volume of water increases as it freezes, and freezing water contained within the
concrete can cause stresses to develop in the concrete. When these stresses exceed the
tensile capacity of the concrete, they may cause a number of effects: spalling of the concrete,
development of further cracks, 'pop outs' of the surface of the concrete.

PG. 4
Question 10
Figure shows the ceiling view of a reinforced concrete building suffering from several
structural defects. Hypothesize the primary cause for the development of these defects.
Propose a workable solution(s) to these problems, and provide adequate justification in
each case. (JUL17)

Answer:
The corroded reinforcement, and concrete spalling & cracking can be rectified through
reinforcement replacement, and cement grouting/patching respectively. Furthermore, the
source of water should be identified & contained or suitable waterproofing measures applied
on the exposed concrete surface. This done to mitigate the effects of water leakage.

Question 11
Cracking in a reinforced concrete structure is associated with poor workmanship, low-quality
materials and unanticipated stresses. Differentiate between structural and non-structural
cracks in the reinforced concrete structure.

Answer:
Structural cracks
Structural cracks are those which result from incorrect design, faulty construction, poor
concrete quality, overloading or unanticipated stress and these may endanger the safety of a
building and their inmates.
Non-structural cracks
Occur mostly due to internally induced stresses in building materials. These cracks normally
do not endanger the safety but may look unsightly, create an impression of faulty work or
give a feeling of instability.

PG. 5
Question 12
Cracks on the slab have caused water leakage and steel reinforcement corrosion problems.
Recommend TWO (2) suitable investigation techniques to detect possible corrosion of the
reinforcements in the slabs. Explain your answer with the aid of sketches. (DEC16)

Answer:
1. Half Cell potential – This method is by measuring the potential of an embedded
reinforcing bar relative to a reference half-cell placed on the concrete surface. The
half-cell is usually a copper/copper sulphate or silver/silver chloride cell, but other
combinations are used. The concrete functions as an electrolyte and the risk of
corrosion of the reinforcement in the immediate region of the test location may be
related empirically to the measured potential difference.

2. Chain drags – This method simply involves dragging lengths of chain across the top of
a concrete surface. A distinctly hollow, drum-like sound is heard when delamination
is encountered. Chain drag surveys are particularly effective in locating shallow
delamination on uncovered decks.

PG. 6
Question 13
Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) can be applied to strengthen bridges, beams, columns, and
slabs of buildings. It is possible to increase the strength of structural members even after
they have been severely damaged due to loading conditions. Two techniques are typically
adopted for the strengthening of beams, relating to the strength enhancement desired:
flexural strengthening or shear strengthening. For a simply supported beam with applied
top-loading, suggest the face of the member where the FRP should be applied. Explain
your answer with the aid of sketches. (JUL17)

Answer:
Bottom face.
Principal tensile fibres are oriented in the beam longitudinal axis, similar to its internal flexural
steel reinforcement. This increases the beam strength and its stiffness (load required to cause
unit deflection), however decreases the deflection capacity and ductility.

Question 14

Cracking in a reinforced concrete structure is associated with poor workmanship, low-quality

Answer:
To minimize the cracks development:
- Proper water-cement ratio used before the concrete mixture
- Proper consolidation process with appropriate vibration being applied to ensure the
concrete is compacted accordingly
- Proper curing process conducted to reduce the hydration process that can produce
hairline cracks on the concrete surface

PG. 7
Question 15
Schmidt rebound hammer does provide a quick, inexpensive method of checking the
hardness of concrete. However, it has some serious limitations. Assess the validity of the test
under the following conditions: (JUN19)
i. Size, shape and rigidity of the specimen
ii. Surface and internal moisture conditions of concrete

Answer:
i. If the concrete does not form part of a large mass any movement caused by the impact of the
hammer will result in a reduction in the rebound number. In such cases the member has to
be rigidly held or backed up by a heavy mass.
ii. The rebound numbers are lower for well-cured air dried specimens than for the same
specimens tested after being soaked in water and tested in the saturated surface dried
conditions. Therefore, whenever the actual moisture condition of the field concrete
or specimen is unknown, the surface should be pre-saturated for several hours before
testing. A correlation curve for tests performed on saturated surface dried specimens
should then be used to estimate the compressive strength.

PG. 8