Structural integrity and failure

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Collapsed barn at Hrsne, Gotland, Sweden.

Structural integrity and failure is an aspect of engineering which deals with the ability of a
structure to support a designed load (weight, force, etc...) without breaking, tearing apart, or
collapsing, and includes the study of breakage that has previously occurred in order to prevent
failures in future designs.
Structural integrity is the term used for the performance characteristic applied to a component,
a single structure, or a structure consisting of different components. Structural integrity is the
ability of an item to hold together under a load, including its own weight, resisting breakage or
bending. It assures that the construction will perform its designed function, during reasonable
use, for as long as the designed life of the structure. Items are constructed with structural
integrity to ensure that catastrophic failure does not occur, which can result in injuries, severe
damage, death, or monetary losses.
Structural failure refers to the loss of structural integrity, which is the loss of the load-carrying
capacity of a component or member within astructure, or of the structure itself. Structural
failure is initiated when the material is stressed beyond its strength limit, thus causing fracture
or excessive deformations. In a well-designed system, a localized failure should not cause
immediate or even progressive collapse of the entire structure. Ultimate failure strength is one
of the limit states that must be accounted for in structural engineering and structural design.
Contents
[hide]

1 Introduction

2 History

3 Types of failure

4 Notable integrity

5 Notable failures

5.1 Bridges

5.1.1 Dee bridge

5.1.2 First Tay Rail Bridge

5.1.3 First Tacoma Narrows Bridge

5.1.4 I-35W Bridge

5.2 Buildings

5.2.1 Thane building collapse

5.2.2 Savar building collapse

5.2.3 Sampoong Department Store collapse

5.2.4 Ronan Point

5.2.5 Oklahoma City bombing

5.2.6 Versailles wedding hall

5.2.7 World Trade Center Towers 1, 2, and 7

5.3 Aircraft

5.4 Other

5.4.1 Warsaw Radio Mast

5.4.2 Hyatt Regency walkway

6 See also

7 References

Introduction[edit]
Structural integrity is the ability of a structure or a component to withstand a designed service
load, resisting structural failure due to fracture, deformation, or fatigue. Structural integrity is a
concept often used in engineering, to produce items that will not only function adequately for
their designed purposes, but also to function for a desired service life.
To construct an item with structural integrity, an engineer must first consider the mechanical
properties of a material, such as toughness, strength, weight, hardness, and elasticity, and

then determine a suitable size, thickness, or shape that will withstand the desired load for a
long life. A material with high strength may resist bending, but, without adequate toughness, it
may have to be very large to support a load and prevent breaking. However, a material with
low strength will likely bend under a load even though its high toughness prevents fracture. A
material with low elasticity may be able to support a load with minimum deflection (flexing), but
can be prone to fracture from fatigue, while a material with high elasitcity may be more
resistant to fatigue, but may produce too much deflection unless the object is drastically
oversized.
Structural integrity must always be considered in engineering when designing buildings, gears
or transmissions, support structures, mechanical components, or any other item that may bear
a load. The engineer must carefully balance the properties of a material with its size and the
load it is intended to support. Bridge supports, for instance, need good yield strength, whereas
the bolts that hold them need good shear and tensile strength. Springs need good elasticity,
but lathe tooling needs high rigidity and minimal deflection. When applied to a structure, the
integrity of each component must be carefully matched to its individual application, so that the
entire structure can support its load without failure due to weak links. When a weak link
breaks, it can put more stress on other parts of the structure, leading to cascading failures.[1][2]

History[edit]
The need to build structure with integrity goes back as far as recorded history. Houses needed
to be able to support their own weight, plus the weight of the inhabitants. Castles needed to be
fortified to withstand assaults from invaders. Tools needed to be strong and tough enough to
do their jobs. However, it was not until the 1920s that the science offracture mechanics,
namely the brittleness of glass, was described by Alan Arnold Griffith. Even so, a real need for
the science did not present itself until World War II, when over 200 welded-steel ships broke in
half due to brittle fracture, caused by a combination of the stresses created from the welding
process, temperature changes, and the stress points created at the square corners of the
bulkheads. The squared windows in the De Havilland Comet aircraft of the 1950s caused
stress points which allowed cracks to form, causing the pressurized cabins to explode in midflight. Failures in pressurized boiler tanks were a common problem during this era, causing
severe damage. The growing sizes of bridges and buildings began to lead to even greater
catastrophes and loss of life. The need to build constructions with structural integrity led to
great advances in the fields of material sciences and fracture mechanics. [3][4]

Types of failure[edit]
Failure of a structure can occur from many types of problems. Most of these problems are
unique to the type of structure or to the various industries. However, most can be traced to one
of five main causes.

The first, whether due to size, shape, or the choice of material, is that the structure is
not strong and tough enough to support the load. If the structure or component is not
strong enough, catastrophic failure can occur when the overstressed construction reaches
a critical stress level.

The second is instability, whether due to geometry, design or material choice, causing
the structure to fail from fatigue or corrosion. These types of failure often occur at stress
points, such as squared corners or from bolt holes being too close to the material's edge,
causing cracks to slowly form and then progress through cyclic loading. Failure generally
occurs when the cracks reach a critical length, causing breakage to happen suddenly
under normal loading conditions.

The third type of failure is caused by manufacturing errors. This may be due to
improper selection of materials, incorrect sizing, improper heat treating, failing to adhere to
the design, or shoddy workmanship. These types of failure can occur at any time, and are
usually unpredictable.

The fourth is also unpredictable, from the use of defective materials. The material may
have been improperly manufactured, or may have been damaged from prior use.

The fifth cause of failure is from lack of consideration of unexpected problems.

Vandalism, sabotage, and natural disasters can all overstress a structure to the point of
failure. Improper training of those who use and maintain the construction can also
overstress it, leading to potential failures.[5][6]

Notable integrity[edit]

Akashi Kaiky Bridge, a bridge

Burj Khalifa, a building

Ameralik Span, a span

Notable failures[edit]
Further information: List of structural failures and collapses
It has been suggested that Catastrophic failure#Examples be merged into this section.
(Discuss) Proposed since September 2013.

Bridges[edit]
See also: List of bridge disasters
Dee bridge[edit]
Main article: Dee bridge disaster

The Dee bridge after its collapse

On 24 May 1847 the new railway bridge over the river Dee collapsed as a train passed over it,
with the loss of 5 lives. It was designed byRobert Stephenson, using cast iron girders
reinforced with wrought iron struts. The bridge collapse was the subject of one of the first
formal inquiries into a structural failure. The result of the inquiry was that the design of the
structure was fundamentally flawed, as the wrought iron did not reinforce the cast iron at all,
and that, owing to repeated flexing, the casting had suffered a brittle failure due to fatigue. [7]

First Tay Rail Bridge[edit]

Main article: Tay Bridge disaster
The Dee bridge disaster was followed by a number of cast iron bridge collapses, including the
collapse of the first Tay Rail Bridge on 28 December 1879. Like the Dee bridge, the Tay
collapsed when a train passed over it causing 75 people to lose their lives. The bridge failed
because of poorly made cast iron, and the failure of the designer Thomas Bouch to consider
wind loading on the bridge. The collapse resulted in cast iron largely being replaced by steel
construction, and a complete redesign in 1890 of the Forth Railway Bridge. As a result, the
Forth Bridge was the first entirely steel bridge in the world. [8]
First Tacoma Narrows Bridge[edit]
Main article: Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)
The 1940 collapse of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge is sometimes characterized in
physics textbooks as a classic example of resonance, although this description is misleading.
The catastrophic vibrations that destroyed the bridge were not due to simple mechanical
resonance, but to a more complicated oscillation between the bridge and winds passing
through it, known as aeroelastic flutter. Robert H. Scanlan, father of the field of bridge
aerodynamics, wrote an article about this misunderstanding.[9] This collapse, and the research
that followed, led to an increased understanding of wind/structure interactions. Several bridges
were altered following the collapse to prevent a similar event occurring again. The only fatality
was Tubby the dog.[8]
I-35W Bridge[edit]
Main article: I-35W Mississippi River bridge

Security camera images show the I-35W collapse in animation, looking north.

The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known simply as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane
steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, United States. The bridge was completed in 1967, and its maintenance was
performed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The bridge was Minnesota's fifth
busiest,[10][11] carrying 140,000 vehicles daily.[12]The bridge catastrophically failed during the
evening rush hour on 1 August 2007, collapsing to the river and riverbanks beneath. Thirteen
people were killed and 145 were injured. Following the collapse, the Federal Highway
Administration advised states to inspect the 700 U.S. bridges of similar construction [13] after a
possible design flaw in the bridge was discovered, related to large steel sheets called gusset
plateswhich were used to connect girders together in the truss structure.[14][15] Officials
expressed concern about many other bridges in the United States sharing the same design
and raised questions as to why such a flaw would not have been discovered in over 40 years
of inspections.[15]

Buildings[edit]
See also: Category:Collapsed buildings.
Thane building collapse[edit]
Main article: 2013 Thane building collapse
On 4 April 2013, a building collapsed on tribal land in Mumbra, a suburb
of Thane in Maharashtra, India.[16][17] It has been called the worst building collapse in the area.[18]
[nb 1]
74 people died, including 18 children, 23 women, and 33 men, while more than 100 people
survived. The search for additional survivors ended on 6 April 2013.[21][22][23][24]

The building was under construction and did not have an occupancy certificate for its 100 to
150 low- to middle-income residents.[25][26] Living in the building were the site construction
workers and families. It was reported that the building was illegally constructed because
standard practices were not followed for safe, lawful construction; land acquisition and
resident occupancy.
By 11 April, a total of 15 suspects were arrested including builders, engineers, municipal
officials and other responsible parties. Governmental records indicate that there were two
orders to manage the number of illegal buildings in the area: a 2005 Maharashtra state order
to use remote sensing and a 2010 Bombay High Court order. There were also complaints
made to state and municipal officials.
On 9 April, a campaign began by the Thane Municipal Corporation to demolish area illegal
buildings, focusing first on "dangerous" buildings. The forest department said that it will
address encroachment of forest land in the Thane district. A call centre was established by the
Thane Municipal Corporation to accept and track resolution of caller complaints about illegal
buildings.
Savar building collapse[edit]
Main article: 2013 Savar building collapse
On 24 April 2013, Rana Plaza, an eight-story commercial building, collapsed in Savar, a subdistrict in the Greater Dhaka Area, the capital of Bangladesh. The search for the dead ended
on 13 May with the death toll of 1,129.[27] Approximately 2,515 injured people were rescued
from the building alive.[28][29]
It is considered to be the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, as well as the deadliest
accidental structural failure in modern human history.[26][30]
The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several other shops. The
shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the
building.[31][32][33] Warnings to avoid using the building after cracks appeared the day before had
been ignored. Garment workers were ordered to return the following day and the building
collapsed during the morning rush-hour.[34]
Sampoong Department Store collapse[edit]
Main article: Sampoong Department Store collapse
On 29 June 1995, the 5-story Sampoong Department Store in the Seocho
District of Seoul, South Korea collapsed resulting in the deaths of 502 people. In April 1995,
cracks began to appear in the ceiling of the fifth floor of the store's south wing due to the
presence of an air-conditioning unit on the weakened roof of the poorly built structure. On the
morning of 29 June, as the number of cracks in the ceiling increased dramatically, the top floor
was closed and managers shut the air conditioning off. The store management failed to shut
the building down or issue formal evacuation orders; however, the executives themselves left
the premises as a precaution. Five hours before the collapse, the first of several loud bangs
was heard emanating from the top floors, as the vibration of the air conditioning caused the
cracks in the slabs to widen further. Amid customer reports of vibration, the air conditioning
was turned off, but the cracks in the floors had already grown to 10 cm. At about 5:00 p.m.
local time, the fifth floor ceiling began to sink; by 5:57 p.m., the roof gave way, and the air
conditioning unit crashed through into the already-overloaded fifth floor, trapping more than
1,500 people and killing 502.
Ronan Point[edit]
Main article: Ronan Point
On 16 May 1968, the 22-story residential tower Ronan Point in the London Borough of
Newham collapsed when a relatively small gas explosion on the 18th floor caused a structural
wall panel to be blown away from the building. The tower was constructed of precast concrete,
and the failure of the single panel caused one entire corner of the building to collapse. The
panel was able to be blown out because there was insufficient reinforcement steel passing
between the panels. This also meant that the loads carried by the panel could not be
redistributed to other adjacent panels, because there was no route for the forces to follow. As

a result of the collapse, building regulations were overhauled to prevent disproportionate

collapse and the understanding of precast concrete detailing was greatly advanced. Many
similar buildings were altered or demolished as a result of the collapse.[35]
Oklahoma City bombing[edit]
Main article: Oklahoma City bombing
On 19 April 1995, the nine-story concrete framed Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building in Oklahoma was struck by a huge car bomb causing partial collapse, resulting in the
deaths of 168 people. The bomb, though large, caused a significantly disproportionate
collapse of the structure. The bomb blew all the glass off the front of the building and
completely shattered a ground floor reinforced concrete column (see brisance). At second
story level a wider column spacing existed, and loads from upper story columns were
transferred into fewer columns below by girders at second floor level. The removal of one of
the lower story columns caused neighbouring columns to fail due to the extra load, eventually
leading to the complete collapse of the central portion of the building. The bombing was one of
the first to highlight the extreme forces that blast loading from terrorism can exert on buildings,
and led to increased consideration of terrorism in structural design of buildings. [36]
Versailles wedding hall[edit]
Main article: Versailles wedding hall disaster
The Versailles wedding hall (Hebrew: ) , located in Talpiot, Jerusalem, is the site of
the worst civil disaster in Israel's history. At 22:43 on Thursday night, 24 May 2001 during the
wedding of Keren and Asaf Dror, a large portion of the third floor of the four-story building
collapsed.
World Trade Center Towers 1, 2, and 7[edit]
Main article: Collapse of the World Trade Center
In the September 11 attacks, two commercial airliners were deliberately crashed into the Twin
Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact and resulting fires caused both
towers to collapse within two hours. After the impacts had severed exterior columns and
damaged core columns, the loads on these columns were redistributed. The hat trusses at the
top of each building played a significant role in this redistribution of the loads in the structure.
[37]
The impacts dislodged some of the fireproofing from the steel, increasing its exposure to the
heat of the fires. Temperatures became high enough to weaken the core columns to the point
of creep and plastic deformation under the weight of higher floors. Perimeter columns and
floors were also weakened by the heat of the fires, causing the floors to sag and exerting an
inward force on exterior walls of the building. WTC Building 7 also collapsed later that day.
According to the official report, the 47 story skyscraper collapsed within seconds due to a
combination of a large fire inside the building and heavy structural damage from the collapse
of the north tower. [38][39]

Aircraft[edit]
Main article: Loss of structural integrity on an aircraft
See also: Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure

A 1964 B-52 Stratofortress test demonstrated the same failure that caused the 1963 Elephant
Mountain &1964 Savage Mountain crashes.

Repeated structural failures of aircraft types occurred in 1954, when two de Havilland Comet
C1 jet airliners crashed due to decompression caused by metal fatigue, and in 1963-4, when
the vertical stabilizer on four Boeing B-52 bombers broke off in mid-air.

Other[edit]
Warsaw Radio Mast[edit]
Main article: Warsaw radio mast
On 8 August 1991 at 16:00 UTC Warsaw radio mast, the tallest man-made object ever built
before the erection of Burj Khalifa collapsed as consequence of an error in exchanging the
guy-wires on the highest stock. The mast first bent and then snapped at roughly half its height.
It destroyed at its collapse a small mobile crane of Mostostal Zabrze. As all workers left the
mast before the exchange procedures, there were no fatalities, in contrast to the similar
collapse of WLBT Tower in 1997.
Hyatt Regency walkway[edit]
Main article: Hyatt Regency walkway collapse

Design change on the Hyatt Regency walkways.

On 17 July 1981, two suspended walkways through the lobby of the Hyatt Regency in Kansas
City, Missouri, collapsed, killing 114 and injuring more than 200 people[40] at a tea dance. The
collapse was due to a late change in design, altering the method in which the rods supporting
the walkways were connected to them, and inadvertently doubling the forces on the
connection. The failure highlighted the need for good communication between design
engineers and contractors, and rigorous checks on designs and especially on contractorproposed design changes. The failure is a standard case study on engineering courses
around the world, and is used to teach the importance of ethics in engineering. [41][42]

See also[edit]

Structural analysis

Structural robustness

Catastrophic failure

Earthquake engineering

Porch collapse

Forensic engineering

Progressive collapse

Seismic performance

Structural Fracture Mechanics

Collapse zone

Engineering disasters

References[edit]
Notes
1.

Jump up^ It has also been called the worst building collapse disaster in the past 10
years within the state of Maharashtra,[19] and the worst in the country in 20 years.[20]

Citations
1.

Jump up^ Introduction to Engineering Design: Modelling, Synthesis and Problem

Solving Strategies By Andrew E. Samuel, John Weir -- Elsevier 1999 Page 3--5

2.

Jump up^ Structural Integrity of Fasteners, Volume 2 Edited by Pir M. Toor -- ASTM
2000

3.

Jump up^ Assuring structural integrity in army systems By National Research Council
(U.S.). National Materials Advisory Board, National Research Council (U.S.). Commission on
Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on
Assurance of Structural Integrity -- 1985 Page 1--19

4.

Jump up^ Structural Integrity Monitoring By R.A. Collacott -- Chapman and Hall 1985
Page 1--5

5.

Jump up^ Assuring structural integrity in army systems By National Research Council
(U.S.). National Materials Advisory Board, National Research Council (U.S.). Commission on
Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on
Assurance of Structural Integrity -- 1985 Page 1--19

6.

Jump up^ Structural Integrity Monitoring By R.A. Collacott -- Chapman and Hall 1985
Page 1--5

7.

Jump up^ Petroski, H. (1994) p.81

8.

^ Jump up to:a b Scott, Richard (2001). In the Wake of Tacoma: Suspension Bridges
and the Quest for Aerodynamic Stabilitya. ASCE Publications. p. 139. ISBN 0-7844-0542-5.

9.

Jump up^ K. Billah and R. Scanlan (1991), Resonance, Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Failure, and Undergraduate Physics Textbooks, American Journal of Physics, 59(2), 118-124 (PDF)

10.

Jump up^ "2006 Metro Area Traffic Volume Index Map" (PDF). Mn/DOT. 2006.
Retrieved9 August 2007. Index map for Mn/DOT's 2006 traffic volumes; relevant maps showing
the highest river bridge traffic volumes are Maps 2E, 3E, and 3F.

11.

Jump up^ Weeks, John A. III (2007). "I-35W Bridge Collapse Myths And
Conspiracies". John A. Weeks III. Retrieved 6 August 2007.

12.

Jump up^ "2006 Downtown Minneapolis Traffic Volumes" (PDF). Minnesota

Department of Transportation. 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2007. This map shows average daily
traffic volumes for downtown Minneapolis. Trunk highway and Interstate volumes are from
2006.

13.

Jump up^ "U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters Calls on States to

Immediately Inspect All Steel Arch Truss Bridges" (Press release).

14.

Jump up^ "Update on NTSB Investigation of Collapse of I-35W Bride in

Minneapolis" (Press release). National Transportation Safety Board. 8 August 2007.
Retrieved 1 December2007.

15.

^ Jump up to:a b Davey, Monica; Wald, Matthew L. (8 August 2007). Potential Flaw Is
Found in Design of Fallen Bridge. The New York Times. Retrieved 9 August 2007.

16.

Jump up^ "Two top Thane municipal corporation engineers held for killer cave-in". The
Times of India. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.

17.

Jump up^ "Is Municipality as much to blame as builders for Thane building
collapse?" IBN. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.

18.

Jump up^ Nitin Yeshwantrao (6 April 2013). "Thane building collapse toll rises to 72,
rescue ops end". Times of India. Retrieved 7 April 2013.

19.

Jump up^ "Thane: Four-year-old girl recovered from debris opens her eyes". IBN. 7
April 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.

20.

Jump up^ Associated Press. "Indian police arrest 9 in Mumbai building collapse ." The
Times. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.

21.

Jump up^ "Thane building collapse: 74 dead, both builders arrested". Zee News. 7
April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.

22.

Jump up^ "Thane building collapse: 9 arrested, sent to police custody". IBN. 7 April
2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.

23.

Jump up^ "India ends search for survivors in Mumbai rubble". BBC. 6 April 2013.
Retrieved6 April 2013.

24.

Jump up^ "Thane building collapse: Two more arrested, TMC begins demolition drive".
DNA. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.

25.

Jump up^ "45 killed as building collapses in India (PHOTOS)" RT News 5 April 2013.
Retrieved 5 April 2013.

26.

^ Jump up to:a b "Bangladesh building collapse death toll passes 500". BBC News. 3
May 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.

27.

Jump up^ Sarah Butler. "Bangladeshi factory deaths spark action among high-street
clothing chains | The Observer". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2013.

28.

Jump up^ "Bangladesh collapse search over; death toll 1,127". Yahoo News.
Retrieved 13 May2013.

29.

Jump up^ "Advertise on NYTimes.com Bangladesh Factory Collapse Death Toll Hits
1,021".The New York Times. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.

30.

Jump up^ "Bangladesh Building Collapse Death Toll Tops 500; Engineer
Whistleblower Arrested". Huffington Post. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.

31.

Jump up^ "Bangladesh Dhaka building collapse leaves 80 dead". BBC News. 24 April
2013.

32.

Jump up^ "80 dead, 800 hurt in Savar high-rise collapse". bdnews24.com. 24 April
2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

33.

Jump up^ Mullen, Jethro (24 April 2013). "Bangladesh building collapse kills at least
80". CNN. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

34.

Jump up^ Nelson, Dean (24 April 2013). "Bangladesh building collapse kills at least 82
in Dhaka". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

35.

Jump up^ Feld, Jacob; Carper, Kenneth L. (1997). Construction Failure. John Wiley &
Sons. p. 8.ISBN 0-471-57477-5.

36.

Jump up^ Virdi, K.S. (2000). Abnormal Loading on Structures: Experimental and
Numerical Modelling. Taylor & Francis. p. 108. ISBN 0-419-25960-0.

37.

Jump up^ "NIST's Responsibilities Under the National Construction Safety Team Act".
Retrieved 23 April 2008.

38.

Jump up^ Baant, Zdenk P.; Jia-Liang Le, Frank R. Greening and David B. Benson
(27 May 2007). "Collapse of World Trade Center Towers: What Did and Did Not Cause
It?"(PDF). 22 June 2007. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern
University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA. Structural Engineering Report No. 07-05/C605c
(page 12). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 17 September2007.

39.

Jump up^ Baant, Zdenk P.; Yong Zhou (1 January 2002). "Why Did the World Trade
Center Collapse?Simple Analysis" (PDF). Journal of Engineering Mechanics 128 (1): 2
6.doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9399(2002)128:1(2). Retrieved 23 August 2007.

40.

Jump up^ M. Levy, M. Salvadori (1992). Why Buildings Fall Down. Norton & Co.

41.

Jump up^ Feld, J.; Carper, K.L. (1997) p.214

42.

Jump up^ Whitbeck, C. (1998) p.115

Bibliography

Feld, Jacob; Carper, Kenneth L. (1997). Construction Failure. John Wiley &
Sons. ISBN 0-471-57477-5.

Lewis, Peter R. (2007). Disaster on the Dee. Tempus.

Petroski, Henry (1994). Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in
Engineering. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-46649-0.

Scott, Richard (2001). In the Wake of Tacoma: Suspension Bridges and the Quest for
Aerodynamic Stability. ASCE Publications. ISBN 0-7844-0542-5.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_integrity_and_failure