Understanding Bridge Collapses

In a straightforward style, this book presents a detailed overview of 20 cases of famous and other highly interesting bridge collapses over the last two centuries. Every case is illustrated and described in detail and the failure analyses made are supported by well-known explanations and, in some cases, by new theories. The chronological order makes it easy to follow the gradual development in the use of different bridge types and the choice of construction material. The increase of knowledge and experience in the structural engineering discipline over the years is clearly observable, although every modern engineer will admit that both fatigue and buckling are very complex phenomena and that knowledge about them can increasingly profit from studying past bridge construction projects failures. Intended for consulting engineers (bridges, steel and metal structures) and for advanced-level and postgraduate students in structural and bridge engineering.

Bjorn Akesson is a former lecturer at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Currently he is a consulting engineer and the author of several books focusing on the design and analysis of steel structures, especially bridges. He also published Plate Buckling in Bridges and Other Structures, a comprehensive account of local buckling in bridges (Taylor & Francis, 2007).