Catastrophic failure

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A catastrophic failure is a sudden and total

structural failures, but has often been extended to many other disciplines in which total and irrecoverable loss occurs, such as a head crash occurrence on a hard disk drive
.

For example, catastrophic failure can be observed in steam turbine rotor failure, which can occur due to peak stress on the rotor; stress concentration increases up to a point at which it is excessive, leading ultimately to the failure of the disc.

In firearms, catastrophic failure usually refers to a rupture or disintegration of the barrel or receiver of the gun when firing it. Some possible causes of this are an

out-of-battery gun, an inadequate headspace, the use of incorrect ammunition, the use of ammunition with an incorrect propellant charge,[1] a partially or fully obstructed barrel,[2]
or weakened metal in the barrel or receiver. A failure of this type, known colloquially as a "kaboom", or "kB" failure, can pose a threat not only to the user(s) but even many bystanders.

In chemical engineering, a reaction which undergoes thermal runaway can cause catastrophic failure.

It can be difficult to isolate the cause or causes of a catastrophic failure from other damage that occurred during the failure, forensic engineering and failure analysis are used to find and analyse these causes.

Examples

See also: Structural integrity and failure § Notable failures
Original Tay Bridge from the north
Fallen Tay Bridge from the north

Examples of catastrophic failure of engineered structures include:

  • The
    Tay Rail Bridge disaster
    of 1879, where the center 0.5 miles (0.80 km) of the bridge was completely destroyed while a train was crossing in a storm. The bridge was inadequately designed and its replacement was built as a separate structure upstream of the old.
  • The failure of the South Fork Dam in 1889 released 4.8 billion US gallons (18 billion litres) of water and killed over 2,200 people (popularly known as the Johnstown Flood).
  • The collapse of the St. Francis Dam in 1928 released 12.4 billion US gallons (47 billion litres) of water, resulting in a death toll of nearly 600 people.
  • The collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge of 1940, where the main deck of the road bridge was totally destroyed by dynamic oscillations in a 40 mph (64 km/h) wind.
  • The De Havilland Comet disasters of 1954, later determined to be structural failures due to greater metal fatigue than anticipated at the corners of windows.
  • The 62 Banqiao Dams failure event in China in 1975, due to Typhoon Nina. Approximately 86,000 people died from flooding and another 145,000 died from subsequent diseases, a total of 231,000 deaths.
  • The Hyatt Regency walkway collapse of 1981, where a suspended walkway in a hotel lobby in Kansas City, Missouri, collapsed completely, killing over 100 people on and below the structure.
  • The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986, in which an O-ring of a rocket booster failed, causing the external fuel tank to break up and making the shuttle veer off course, subjecting it to aerodynamic forces beyond design tolerances; the entire crew of 7 and vehicle were lost.
  • The
    radioactive
    materials.
  • The collapse of the
    world's tallest structure
    .
  • The Sampoong Department Store collapse of 1995, which happened due to structural weaknesses, killed 502 people and injured 937.
  • The
    World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, weakened the floor joists
    to the point of catastrophic failure.
  • The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster of 2003, where damage to a wing during launch resulted in total loss upon re-entry.
  • The collapse of the multi-span I-35W Mississippi River bridge on August 1, 2007.
  • The collapse of the Olivos-Tezonco Mexico City Metro overpass of 2021, which had structurally weakened over the years.

See also

  • Dragon King Theory
  • List of bridge disasters
  • Seismic performance
  • Structural collapse
  • Structural failure
  • Resonance disaster
  • Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth

References

  1. ISBN 978-1420062977
    . Retrieved 2014-02-24. Many firearms are destroyed and injuries sustained by home reloaders who make a mistake in estimating the correct powder charge.
  2. ISBN 978-0-313-38670-1
    . Retrieved 2014-02-24. ... and left the copper jacket lodged in the barrel, leading to a catastrophic failuer of the rifle when the next bullet fired hit the jacket remnants.

Further reading
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