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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Ronan Point Apartment Tower Collapse And Its Effect On Building Codes, Cynthia Pearson, Norbert Delatte
Ronan Point Apartment Tower Collapse And Its Effect On Building Codes, Cynthia Pearson, Norbert Delatte
Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications
In the early morning hours of May 16, 1968, the occupant of apartment 90 on the 18th floor of the 22-story Ronan Point apartment tower, in London, lit a match to brew her morning cup of tea. The resulting gas explosion initiated a partial collapse of the structure that killed four people and injured 17 (one of whom subsequently died). On investigation, the apartment tower was found to be deeply flawed in both design and construction. The existing building codes were found to be inadequate for ensuring the safety and integrity of high-rise precast concrete apartment buildings. The Larsen–Nielson building …
Failure Of Cold-Formed Steel Beams During Concrete Placement, Norbert Delatte
Failure Of Cold-Formed Steel Beams During Concrete Placement, Norbert Delatte
Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications
During a concrete placement on the second story of a building under construction, the supporting cold-formed steel beams collapsed. Four workers were injured. The collapse occurred while concrete was being placed onto steel decking on the second floor of the structure. Cold-formed steel beams, without shoring, supported the steel decking. Analysis of the steel beams under the weight of concrete and workers using the applicable American Concrete Institute and American Iron and Steel Institute documents indicated that the beams were overstressed for construction loads. After the collapse, part of the structure was rebuilt using thicker beams. For the reconstruction, the …