Beyond Failure: Forensic Case Studies for Civil Engineers

by Norbert J. Delatte

"Beyond Failure" presents the circumstances of important failures that have had wide-reaching impacts on civil engineering practice. Each case study narrates the known facts of the design and construction, the failure, subsequent investigation or analysis, and, where appropriate, additional issues such as technical concerns, ethical considerations, professional practice issues, and long-term effects. The case studies are organized around eight common topics of undergraduate engineering courses, and each case study has teaching points and a reading list, so this book is useful to engineering faculty and their students. With more than 40 full cases, this book will also appeal to practicing engineers with an interest in forensic investigations or the analysis of historic failures.

424 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2008

About the author

Dr. Norbert Delatte joined the Cleveland State University faculty in December, 2003, after serving on the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the United States Military Academy. He obtained his BSCE from The Citadel in 1984, his Master's from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996, He served for eleven years on active duty as an officer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

His research interests include concrete pavement performance and rehabilitation, nondestructive testing, properties of concrete including roller compacted concrete, and the integration of failure case studies into the civil engineering curriculum.

He served for eleven years in the United States Army as an officer in the Corps of Engineers, including two years of service in the Republic of Korea, wartime service in the Arabian Peninsula during Operation Desert Storm, and command of an engineer company during Hurricane Andrew relief operations in southern Florida. He taught as an Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York during the 1996-1997 academic year. He specializes in concrete pavement behavior and performance, structural engineering, transportation engineering, and construction materials. He is a member of the American Concrete Institute, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Society for Engineering Education. He is the Transportation Research Board University Representative for Cleveland State University, and serves as a member on two TRB committees, AFN40, Concrete Materials and Placement Techniques (2006 to present) and AFN20, Properties of Concrete (2007 to present)

He is the chair of ACI Committee 327 (Roller Compacted Concrete Pavements), former chair of ACI Committee 325, (Concrete Pavements) and a member of ACI Committees 330 (Concrete Parking Lots and Site Paving), 522 (Pervious Concrete), E802 (Teaching Methods and Educational Materials), and E803 (Faculty Network Coordinating Committee). He is the former chair of the ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE) Executive Committee and the TCFE Education Committee. In addition, he is the Editor of ASCE's Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice. Dr. Delatte is a registered professional engineer in the States of Ohio and Alabama and in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

He is the editor of the ASCE Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice - Journal web site
http://www.editorialmanager.com/jrnei...

Failure Case Studies funded by the National Science Foundation - web site
http://matdl.org/failurecases/

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for any civil engineer. The book is a light but educational read. It consists of a series of case studies involving large engineering failures. The case studies are presented clearly and precisely. Any engineer with a B.S. will have enough math to understand all the formulas and equations to readily understand this book.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. The author provides practical insights based on various failure case studies. Recommended for students and practicing professionals with an interest in forensic engineering.