The Infrastructure Show's Episodes
With Host Professor Joseph Schofer of Northwestern University.
Click on the link below the description to begin streaming the podcast. To subscribe to The Infrastructure Show podcasts or find in iTunes, see the clicks at the top of the page.
Photo courtesy of Minneapolis Star Tribune
(click for larger image)
Structural failures of infrastructure projects
Posted February 25, 2011, Length: 36:15
In the month of August, 2005 and again in August, 2007, the United States experienced major infrastructure failures – in New Orleans and Minneapolis – that stunned the country with their traumatic loss of life, and drew the attention of the world. The causes of the failures were many: inadequate maintenance and inspection, vulnerable design, construction issues, as well as unexpected changes in loadings that exceeded the margin of safety. How common are structural failures of civil infrastructure? And what can we learn from them? The hosts discuss this important topic with Henry Petroski, a Professor in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University in Durham, NC, where he specializes in failure analysis.
The Infrastructure Show is sponsored by Northwestern University.
Descriptions of photos at top of page, from left to right:
Bayonne Bridge, from Bayonne, NJ to Staten Island, NY;
the Tom Moreland Interchange in Atlanta, GA;
Dworshak Dam, in Clearwater County, ID;
a transmission substation in Orem, UT.
All photos courtesy of Wikipedia.