Two Case Studies of Bridge Design Failure
Failure By Design presents case studies of two famous bridge collapses: the Hyatt Hotel walkways in Kansas City in 1981 and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state in 1940.
PowerPoint Download
Although also appreciated by professional engineers, the PowerPoint and the online presentations are designed so that physics/physical science teachers in grades 9 and above can use the case studies to:
- Develop students' analytical and deductive skills in determining the possible and actual failure modes of a structure
- Illustrate for students how engineers and architects must utilize physics in designing safe structures
- Have students use their knowledge of force loading and vectors to explain the flaw in the design change of the Hyatt walkways
- Introduce concepts of wave motion and aerodynamics to explain the vibrations and failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
The online presentations can be viewed with either the Internet Explorer web browser or with Adobe Reader software. The printed materials includes a fully illustrated teacher's guide and student handouts. The resources and websites used to create the presentation have been documented.
Direct comments or inquiries to:
Granger Meador, gmeador@bps-ok.org
Physics Teacher · Bartlesville High School · 1700 SE Hillcrest Drive · Bartlesville, OK 74003-5825
