Forensic Engineering and Engineering Fiction

1. Group F Iliana Gamboa Saul Mejia Miriam Garcia Daniel Perez Ricardo Felix Andrea Rios Forensic Engineering and Engineering Fiction

2. Alexander L. Kielland • A Pentagon-type semi-submersible drilling • It was supporting the Edda rig, acting as a so-called ‘flotel’ for workers who travelled between the two rigs via a bridge • Around 1830 hours on 27 March 1980, one of the main horizontal braces supporting one of the five legs failed http://www.kulturminne-ekofisk.no/ImageArchive/172/Kielland.jpg

3. Alexander L. Kielland Accident • It was designed for much worse conditions, conditions expected once in every one hundred years • One leg broke off with “an almighty crack.” • 123 victims and only 89 survivors http://www.exponent.com/files/RepresentativeExperience/0a9896a4-9537-493a-a689-002ad3faea97/Presentation/ceExperienceThumbImage/AlexanderKielland_BKsmall.jpg

4. Causes of the accident • Speculations to what caused it were from collision with Edda, with a submarine, or basic design flaws • Parts were taken to Stavanger, Norway where the fracture surfaces were examined • Telltale signs of uncontrollable growth of a large crack that had developed unbeknownst to the rig’s operators

5. Causes of the accident (Cont.) • Cracks developed due to fatigue cracks • When it was new it must have cracked 3 inches http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kielland_wreck

6. Havilland Comet aircraft • On May 2, 1953 a Comet was destroyed on take off from Dum-Dum Airport in Calcutta, India • Debris scattered over large area suggested plane disintegrated in the air • Structural failure due to too much force of the storm or pilot over control due to storm were said to be the causes of the incident

7. Havilland Comet aircraft (Cont.) • In January 10, 1954, a second Comet taking off from Rome exploded at 27,000 feet • No conclusion could be reached on the cause http://varifrank.com/images/314028020_29d914723f_o.jpg reached

8. Havilland Comet aircraft (Cont.) • On April 8, 1954, a third and final mid-air explosion occurred during a flight en route from London to Cairo and Johannesburg • Cabin exploded but no explanation why. • Testing of the Comet was done in a simulation • Findings • What caused it • What was done

9. Neville Shute Norway • Aeronautical Engineer graduated fro Oxford • Also wrote many novels including “On the Beach” and “Like Alice” • Former member of the Royal Aeronautical Society (1934).

10. Neville Shute Norway • Curiously foreshadowed the elusive fatigue problem of the de Havilland Comets • Failed due to undesirable aerodynamic phenomenon of flutter (according to “Honey a fictional character from his novel) http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/jetliner/comet/comet_11.jpg

11. Neville Shute Norway Cont. • Stephen Barlay was a well know “Aircrash Detective” who analyzed the crash of de Havilland Comets • Barlay during his investigation claims that at the attitude the plane was flying at the wax might have cooled and become brittle • It flew six years before crashing

12. Failure • Incalculable value to the engineer • Need to prepare for failure • What complicates the design game is that the engineer does not always foresee the implications that he is making

13. Failure Cont. • No matter how tragic a failure might be, it could have been anticipated and prevented • “Failure analysis is as easy as Monday-morning quarterbacking; design is more akin to coaching. However, the design engineer must do better than any coach, for he is expected to win every game he plays..”

14. Work Cited • To Engineer is Human by Henry Petroski. First Vintage Books Edition, 1992.