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    Forensic Structural Engineering Case Studies Case N ° 29 Seongsu Bridge

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    Gustavo Soto
    The Seongsu bridge in Seoul, South Korea collapsed in 1994, killing 32 people and injuring 17. An investigation found the principal cause was an inadequate weld joint in a suspended steel truss span. The bridge was 1,160 meters long with a central span of 672 meters divided into five identical 120-meter spans supported by a 48-meter suspended structure. The collapse was caused by fatigue cracking initiated at the toe of a partial penetration weld detail in the truss, a fracture critical joint prone to failure. Lessons from the collapse highlighted the risks of improper weld details under cyclic tensile loads and the need for periodic inspections of fracture critical joints.

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    Forensic Structural Engineering Case Studies Case N ° 29 Seongsu Bridge

    Uploaded by

    Gustavo Soto
    144 views7 pages
    The Seongsu bridge in Seoul, South Korea collapsed in 1994, killing 32 people and injuring 17. An investigation found the principal cause was an inadequate weld joint in a suspended steel truss span. The bridge was 1,160 meters long with a central span of 672 meters divided into five identical 120-meter spans supported by a 48-meter suspended structure. The collapse was caused by fatigue cracking initiated at the toe of a partial penetration weld detail in the truss, a fracture critical joint prone to failure. Lessons from the collapse highlighted the risks of improper weld details under cyclic tensile loads and the need for periodic inspections of fracture critical joints.

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    The Seongsu bridge in Seoul, South Korea collapsed in 1994, killing 32 people and injuring 17. An investigation found the principal cause was an inadequate weld joint in a suspended steel truss span. The bridge was 1,160 meters long with a central span of 672 meters divided into five identical 120-meter spans supported by a 48-meter suspended structure. The collapse was caused by fatigue cracking initiated at the toe of a partial penetration weld detail in the truss, a fracture critical joint prone to failure. Lessons from the collapse highlighted the risks of improper weld details under cyclic tensile loads and the need for periodic inspections of fracture critical joints.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    144 views7 pages

    Forensic Structural Engineering Case Studies Case N ° 29 Seongsu Bridge

    Uploaded by

    Gustavo Soto
    The Seongsu bridge in Seoul, South Korea collapsed in 1994, killing 32 people and injuring 17. An investigation found the principal cause was an inadequate weld joint in a suspended steel truss span. The bridge was 1,160 meters long with a central span of 672 meters divided into five identical 120-meter spans supported by a 48-meter suspended structure. The collapse was caused by fatigue cracking initiated at the toe of a partial penetration weld detail in the truss, a fracture critical joint prone to failure. Lessons from the collapse highlighted the risks of improper weld details under cyclic tensile loads and the need for periodic inspections of fracture critical joints.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 7

    FORENSIC STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

    CASE STUDIES
    CASE N° 29
    SEONGSU BRIDGE

    MARTIN POLIMENI
    STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
    EEPP SA
    [email protected]
    SEONGSU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
    On October 21, 1994, the Seongsu bridge in Seoul, South Korea, collapsed
    during service.
    SEONGSU BRIDGE COLLAPSE

    Principal cause:
    • Inadequate weld joint
    of suspended steel
    truss span.
    Consequences:
    o 32 people dead and
    17 people injured.
    SEONGSU BRIDGE COLLAPSE

    Principal structural
    system.
    Cantilever steel
    trusses bridge.
    Total length 1160.8 m.
    Width 19.4 m
    Central part of the
    bridge where the
    collapse happened:
    length 672 m, 5
    identical spans, 120 m
    length each with 48 m
    middle suspended
    structure.
    SEONGSU BRIDGE COLLAPSE

    The mechanism of collapse. Inadequate


    weld detail at a fracture critical joint.
    SEONGSU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
    It is well known the great stress
    concentration at weld toes in partial
    penetration joints.
    In addition, those are failure fatigue
    prone details.
    maintenance
    SEONGSU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
    Lessons learned:
     Incorrect design weld joint detail at a truss member of a suspended
    span was the main cause of the collapse.
     Other causes such as steel corrosion due to calcium chloride,
    inadequate level of construction team, poor quality control during
    construction, lack of technical standard on maintenance, etc., also
    contributed to the collapse.
     The use of fillet welds or a partial penetration butt welds, to transfer
    cyclic tensile loads is a gross design mistake. Great stress
    concentration occurs at weld toes that initiates cracks which, then,
    are propagated by fatigue up to the fracture of the member. This
    problem is increased if no periodic inspections are carry out
     Details subjected to tensile cyclic loads are fatigue prone. It is
    recommended to avoid this type of fracture critical joints, if it is
    possible. If it is no possible to avoid them, extreme care must be
    taken during the design and construction of those details.

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