Failure Analysis Case Study Information Disseminator

Since 1989, the American Society of Civil Engineers Technical Council on Forensic Engineering has conducted two surveys to gauge the need for teaching failure analysis topics in the civil engineering curriculum. Although the surveys addressed different topics, the limited availability of instructional materials in failure analysis was a recurring theme. The purpose of this paper is to respond to each of the questionnaires by reporting on the ongoing development of a preliminary Internet web site whereby consultants can contribute failure case studies. These case studies will then be readily available for professors and instructors to use in stand-alone failure analysis courses. The case studies can also be used as supplemental material and can be integrated into existing general civil engineering curriculum courses as well.     

A Civil Engineering Curriculum for the Future: The Georgia Tech Case

This paper presents the results of an undergraduate civil engineering curriculum revision at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The process of revision included a variety of important constituencies that provided important input into the adopted curriculum. The curriculum provides emphasis on civil engineering systems, technical communications, sustainability, and computer-based analysis and design. In addition, the paper discusses efforts to encourage students to pursue a masters degree and the use of distance learning technologies as a platform for instruction.     

Integrated Civil Engineering Curriculum: Five-Year Review

An integrated curriculum, which draws material from different areas to teach students about design and problem-solving, offers civil engineering educators an option for accommodating new topics without increasing the number of courses. Freshman engineering and the senior capstone course are two examples of integrated courses, and the writers present a 5-year perspective on an approach that extends the concept of integration to six additional courses, comprised of an 8-course, integrated civil engineering core curriculum. Drawing on their combined experiences with the courses and assessment in a review by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the writers conclude that the curriculum offers a useful vehicle by which to add material to the 4-year program without increasing the number of credit hours, and offers flexible courses to meet goals of professional groups. The paper describes lessons learned, challenges that remain, and current approaches to improvement.     

Survey of the National Civil Engineering Curriculum

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive survey of over 40% of the nation’s undergraduate civil engineering programs. This analysis is based on uniform data collected for accreditation and is principally concerned with three major groups of courses: (1) math and science, (2) general education, and (3) engineering topics. The analysis reveals what is currently being taught in our nation’s civil engineering undergraduate programs, what is not being taught, and the implications for future professional practice. The paper discusses how the average national curriculum has changed historically, how well the curriculum satisfies Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology criteria, and what the current distribution of courses and topics says about the priorities of civil engineering education. Overall, the curriculum was found to be highly specialized in terms of technical subjects but lacking in focus regarding the liberal arts, professional skills, and systems thinking.     

Failure of Constructed Facilities in Civil Engineering Curricula

The responses to a survey of engineering course contents are summarized. In 1998 a questionnaire was sent to 238 Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) -accredited universities and 62 ABET-accredited civil engineering (CE) technical colleges across the United States. The questionnaire focused on the inclusion of failure awareness of constructed facilities in the CE education curriculum. Of the 300 questionnaires sent, 112 were returned. Survey results reveal that, although a majority of colleges recognize the importance and need of providing failure analysis topics in CE courses, they also feel the undergraduate curriculum to be already crowded. In addition, the respondents say that ABET should not establish an accreditation requirement regarding the subject. However, 37% of the colleges say that three or more lectures should be given on failure analysis, either integrated throughout the course or given in series all at once. And, more than half of the respondents think that condition assessment and maintenance of constructed facilities is a topic that should be included in the CE undergraduate curricula.     

Another Look at the L'Ambiance Plaza Collapse

The collapse of the L'Ambiance Plaza building, under construction in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1987, killed 28 construction workers. A number of concurrent investigations were undertaken to attempt to determine the cause. At least six separate theories were developed. However, a prompt legal settlement kept these investigations from being completed. This paper reviews the collapse and discusses the competing theories. The failure focused controversy on the safety of the lift-slab construction method. Because there is a need in civil engineering education for case studies to illustrate ethical and professional issues as well as technical principles, this paper also addresses these aspects. Ways for civil engineering educators to use this case study to address these issues also are discussed.     

Lessons Learned: Failure of a Hydroelectric Power Project Dam

The case of a hydroelectric power project is presented to show how lack of understanding and poor filter design, along with insufficient control of construction quality, caused the failure of a dam. This paper summarizes the forensic investigations and attempts to explain the conditions that led to the formation of sinkholes on the embankment slope and the subsequent initiation of progressive failure of the embankment. The steps necessary to restart the power project, including the final remedial design, are then detailed. This paper also discusses how the functions of various engineering design components are integrated in the context of failure of the embankment. This case serves as a lesson for practicing engineers concerning the difficult technical, professional, and procedural issues that may arise during the design and construction of critical infrastructures.     

Introducing Smart Structures Technology into Civil Engineering Curriculum: Education Development at Lehigh University

Most of today’s civil engineering students are unaware of the potential use of smart structures technology in the design, construction, and maintenance of civil infrastructure systems. This paper presents recent education development in the area of smart structures technology at Lehigh University. The goal of this education development is to prepare the future engineer of society for this cutting-edge technology, for which they may see broad application in their professional practice. An overview of the smart structures technology in civil engineering applications, from a systems perspective, is first given in the paper. Educational activities incorporating smart structures technology into civil engineering curriculum are next presented in this paper.     

Teaching of Hydraulic Design at University of Newcastle upon Tyne

At the University of Newcastle, Hydraulic Engineering Design is part of the fourth (final) year curriculum of the (undergraduate) MEng course and of the 1-year (postgraduate) MSc course. The prerequisites are a good foundation in basic civil engineering subjects and a working knowledge of hydrology, hydraulic structures, and advanced hydraulics as covered in the previous 3 years of the undergraduate BSc course. Hydraulic Engineering Design is taught as a subject in its own right in two modules with 36 h contact each and 64 h private study requirement each. Module A is oriented toward computer-aided design. Module B has three major components: advanced topics in dam and reservoir hydraulics, hydraulic design of highway and irrigation structures, and structural design aspects of hydraulic structures. The structure of the course is continuously updated and further details together with one example of set coursework from each module are included in the paper. The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of and ability in design; the lecturers involved in the teaching of the modules should preferably have experience in hydraulic engineering design. The emphasis in teaching, apart from explanations of the factual background to the various topics, is on the demonstration of alternative solutions to the design problems, bearing in mind environmental, economic, and sociological aspect. It is important that students, in dealing with their open-ended assignments, show the ability of independent thinking. Hydraulic problems are part of integrated civil engineering design assignments in the Newcastle undergraduate BEng course (e.g., drainage and water supply), but the Hydraulic Engineering Design course discussed in this paper is needed for a deeper understanding of various problems and for a mature design philosophy in a specialized area of civil engineering. Civil engineering courses at U.K. universities are (in addition to teaching and research assessments) subjected to a rigorous professional assessment by the Institution of Civil Engineers, as their degree qualifications are a basic part of the requirements for the status of a chartered engineer. The design courses are a vital component in the institution assessment procedure.     

Integrated Management Curriculum for Civil Engineers and Architects

While it is commonly thought worldwide that the education and training of architects and civil engineers require different patterns of learning, the writers of this paper opine that the teaching and learning of management subjects for both groups should be combined. Architecture and civil engineering faculties have many aspects in common, but, even when residing in the same faculty, the two disciplines rarely integrate successfully. This paper examines integration issues at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where, over a period of 4 years, partial integration of architects and civil engineers in management subjects has been tested. The paper discusses the problems of devising a curriculum designed to satisfy both architecture and civil engineering undergraduate degree courses. Within the paper, discussion focuses on the outline for an integrated curriculum, the problems of timing, and logistics, and will report on some student experiences. Comment is also included on administrative issues, class size, relative merits of saving resources versus consequential inconvenience, the problems of making assumptions about relative prior knowledge, and expectations of students. Discussion of the various system changes that need to be put in place before such a liaison can be totally successful is presented. The paper provides valuable insight into the workings of two university faculties at the University of Auckland, which will allow parallels with other universities worldwide to be made.     

Problem-Based Learning in Structural Engineering Education

Structural engineering education has been based historically on specialization within the framework of a four-year undergraduate degree in civil engineering. Many practitioners, however, are concerned that modern civil engineering curricula are not meeting the needs of the structural engineering profession. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the conversation about undergraduate education and the increased technical skills requested by the structural engineering profession. Problem-based learning is presented as a strategy for expanding the civil engineering curriculum to include concentrated study and a problem-solving experience, as well as engaging students in the process of learning how to learn. The paper reports on our experience in incorporating problem-based learning within a senior-year project. The conclusions discuss the challenges of extending this learning format to additional students.     

Practical Summer Training in Civil and Construction Engineering for Cultivation of Professional Ability

The cultivation of professional ability for undergraduate civil and construction engineering students is very important to help them meet the challenges that await them in the fast changing world. This paper presents a thorough study of practical training in the field of civil and construction engineering. Based upon an extensive literature review of the practical training curriculum worldwide, questionnaires were provided to contractors, educators and students in Taiwan to assess problems in traditional summer practical training courses for civil and construction engineering in Taiwan. At the outset of the study, it was thought that the lack of available jobs for students might be related solely to the economy but the findings indicated that the reasons were more complex ranging from concerns about liability for students working in construction sites to traditional cultural concerns about whether apprentices should be paid. The Delphi method was used to study the problems that were identified, relating to planning, execution, evaluation, and development of the existing practical training programs. A refined and improved summer practical training curriculum is proposed for civil and construction engineering education in Taiwan based upon the findings. Although the survey related to practical training programs for engineering students was conducted in Taiwan, the results might vary in other countries. The procedures used, and results obtained may be valuable resources and have a potential use for other countries. What is certain is that practical training can play an important role in readying engineering students for the work place in any location and making the practical training as effective and as safe as possible should be a universal goal.     

General Education for Civil Engineers: Sustainable Development

The ABET criteria for engineering programs no longer has a requirement for humanities and social sciences but instead requires a general education component that complements the technical component of the curriculum. Achievement of the outcomes called for in the ABET criteria and the ability to apply the constraints listed in ABET Criterion 3 can be facilitated by a well-designed general education component. The old humanities and social science components that many programs still have would probably allow most programs to meet the current criteria but the requirement for general education offers an opportunity to improve the overall educational experience for all civil engineers. One approach to general education for civil engineers would be to incorporate a theme and a case is made that sustainability and sustainable development is a good theme for a civil engineering program.     

Contribution of Nonlinear Finite-Element Analysis to Evaluation of Two Structural Concrete Failures

The failure of two reinforced concrete structures is recounted, one involving a warehouse structure and the other an offshore platform base structure. Design details and factors leading to the collapses are identified and discussed. The structures were subsequently analyzed using nonlinear finite-element analysis procedures, taking into account relevant second-order behavior models. The analyses provided an accurate assessment of the load capacities and failure modes observed, as well as meaningful insights into the underlying behavior mechanisms and factors leading to the failures. This paper supports the view that nonlinear analysis techniques have become useful everyday tools for design office applications, particularly in forensic work, and also gives evidence suggesting that errors in the design of modern structures can be potentially more catastrophic than in the past, and that advanced assessment techniques will assume increased importance as a result.     

On the Job versus Graduate School Training of Forensic Engineers—An Instructor and Professional Engineer’s View

This paper provides insights from a graduate forensic engineering course for civil engineers and analyses its success from the instructor and student perspectives. The objective of the study was to evaluate teaching methods and settings for training of forensic engineers in light of new body of knowledge needs for the profession. The assessment methodology used student feedback before, during, and after the semester-long course and the instructor’s observations and prior forensic engineering consulting experience. The course was structured around student learning objectives that paralleled actual engineer training in professional consulting firms. The students used hands-on learning, field investigations, library-based research, and report writing. Focus was placed on learning basic research skills and applying scientific method which were at low levels among students. This is of concern to the profession as these skills, along with analytical ability, form part of the basic tool set of most engineers. By the end of the course, writing and review skills had improved significantly and student perceptions of the specialized skills turned more favorable. The students overwhelmingly appreciated inclusion of guest lectures by forensic engineers to demonstrate the relevance of this field. It was concluded that inadequate technical writing and reading skills, symptomatic of students in many engineering programs can be corrected through a forensic engineering course.     

Incorporation of Sustainability Concepts into a Civil Engineering Curriculum

The need arises to equip engineering students with a wider horizon of concepts in terms of environmental, economic, and social attributes, for decision making of sensitive to sustainability issues. Pedagogic frameworks have to address a multidisciplinary analysis of sustainability. This paper addresses the rationale behind the recent integration of sustainability concepts into an undergraduate civil engineering curriculum in Hong Kong. Incentives and barriers for implementation of the curriculum are addressed. A team-based design project with a problem-based learning approach is highlighted. The initial results of stakeholder evaluations suggested that multidisciplinary skills developed during the learning process might contribute significantly to pertinent knowledge on sustainability.     

The Bowers Program: Effects of Cross-Disciplinary Design Activities on Architectural Engineering Student Performance

This paper describes the implementation of problem-based instruction program in the integration of architectural design and planning into the architectural engineering curriculum. The program consisted of two components: the use of a problem-based structural design exercise administered to an entire class of upper level architectural and civil engineering students, followed by two design exercises undertaken jointly with architecture and landscape architecture students by a selected group of students from the same class. The effect of participation in the joint design exercises was assessed by means of a final examination question and a questionnaire administered before and after participation in one of the exercises. The results of the assessment indicate that the participants achieved a greater ability to integrate architectural and structural design than the nonparticipants, and that the architectural engineering students have greater ability than civil engineering students to integrate architectural and structural design.     

Determining the Content of the First Course in Transportation Engineering

Transportation engineering constitutes a required portion of the civil engineering curriculum at over three-fourths of undergraduate civil engineering programs in the United States. The input of practicing transportation engineers is a critical source of information in determining the content of the first course in transportation engineering. A new survey was conducted in which respondents ranked 31 potential course topics by importance. The results are compared to a similar survey conducted 20?years before to determine which topics have increased in importance, which have become less critical to cover, and which continue to remain of high priority. Topics such as traffic safety and traffic flow characteristics are of considerably higher priority today than 20?years ago, while topics such as geometric design of highways and highway capacity studies continue to be of great importance. Preparation for follow-up and graduate coursework, for the Fundamentals of Engineering and Professional Engineer examinations, and issues of local setting are also considerations in determining the content of the first course in transportation engineering.     

Raising the Bar for Civil Engineering Education: Systems Thinking Approach

The civil engineering profession has been undergoing an identity search. With the advent of information technology and the global market, competition from engineering offices elsewhere and from other local professions is unprecedented. Technical engineering knowledge is no longer a guarantee for career success; rather a combination of numerous professional skills is required. The growing unease of civil engineers about their undefined role in the knowledge economy has led many to question civil engineering education. Although there is a push to enhance the humanistic and business aspects of the curriculum, there is a shove in the opposite direction to strengthen the technical content and keep abreast of technical change. Discussion of this socioeconomic problem within the ASCE forum has often used linear deterministic thinking that is characteristic of technical problems. Social and economic systems are usually more complex and harder to understand than technological systems. If we start making new policies to address the problems of the profession based on fuzzy, incomplete, and imprecise mental models, we may end up with counterintuitive results. This paper proposes a systems thinking approach to the reform of civil engineering education based on System Dynamics modeling, a feedback-based object-oriented modeling paradigm. Such a tool can capture the dynamic nature of complex systems and the nonlinear feedback loops that are often responsible for counterintuitive results of policy making.