TARIQ KAMAL (18) UET ABBOTTABAD CAMPUS ASSIGNMENT #:02 SUBJECT: SUBMITTED TO: Dated: TITLE: ETHICS SIR

ALI RAZA 23 Oct 2011 TWO MAIN FAILURES OF AN ENGINEER

By engineering failures we mean something designed by an engineer that fails to

complete its purpose of existence. Here I am going to mentioned two main failure of an engineer.

1) Texas City Texas US March 23, 2005 (High Temperature Hydrogen Attack,
Refinery, 15 killed, 170 injured, USD 30,000,000).

On 23 March 2005, 15 people were killed and over 170 harmed as the result of a fire and explosion on the isomerization unit at a refinery plant in Texas City United States. The accident was an explosion caused by heavier-than-air hydrocarbon vapors combusting after coming into contact with an ignition source. The severity of the accident was increased by the presence of many people congregated in the vicinity of origin of explosion. Detailed investigations were carried by the plant operator and United States Chemical Safety Board. From the health and safety perspective high number of fatalities was concluded to be caused by loss of containment, inadequate trailer sitting at the plant layout and the fault of design engineering of the blowdown stack. The release of gas was originated at the leaking elbow made of carbon steel in the exchanger piping system reside heat hydrotreater unit (RHU). Investigation to this RHU accident determined that inappropriate material as inadvertently installed in a high pressure and high temperature hydrogen line. The failure of the elbow was noted by the mechanism of high temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA).

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TARIQ KAMAL (18) UET ABBOTTABAD CAMPUS Figure showing Severely Damaged Texas City Refinery 2) Gleno Dam:
The Gleno Dam was a multiple-arch dam on the Gleno River in the Valle di Scalve in the Northern Province of Bergamo, Italy. The dam was constructed between 1916 and 1923 with the purpose of producing hydroelectric power. A portion of the dam failed and burst 40 days after its reservoir was full, on December 1, 1923, killing at least 356 people.

Failure
At 6:30 on the morning of December 1, 1923, a buttress on the dam cracked and subsequently failed. Within minutes, an estimated 4,500,000 m3 (3,648 acreft of water gushed from the reservoir at an elevation around 1,535 m (5,036 ft) above sea level to the valley below. The village of Bueggio was flooded first, followed by a partial flooding of Dezzo part of the municipality of Azzone and complete flooding of Dezzo a frazione of Colere and Corna di Darfo. The flood waters were stopped when they reached Lake Iseo which lies at an elevation of 186 m (610 ft) above sea level. At least 356 people were killed in the disaster.

Cause of failure
The dam was originally permitted as a gravity dam with a slight curvature, but was changed to a multiple arch dam by the client to save money. The permit was not revised for this change until after the dam was completed. The failure of the multiple arch dam was attributed to many aspects of its construction, ultimately poor workmanship. The concrete in the arches was of a poor quality and it was reinforced with anti-grenade scrap netting that had been used duringWorld War I. There were also indications that the dam was poorly joined with its foundation. Additionally, the concrete was believed to not be completely dry when the reservoir was filling. Reportedly, workers who complained about the construction techniques were fired. Today a memorial exists in the failed gap along with a much smaller dam and reservoir within the old reservoir zone. The dam's failure was influential in the development of Italian dam design and risk assessment. As a result of this failure, the construction of new multiple arch dams have become disfavored

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TARIQ KAMAL (18) UET ABBOTTABAD CAMPUS CONCLUSION:

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers must weigh different design choices on their merits and choose the solution that best matches the requirements. It is necessary for an engineer to identify, understand, and interpret the constraints on a design in order to produce a successful result.

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