Construction Failures-Harbour Cay Condominium

CONSTRUCTION FAILURE
Investigation of construction failure of
HARBOUR CAY
CONDOMINUM
at cocoa beach florida
PRESENTED BY:ROSHAN PRAJAPATI ( PT401716
CONSTRUCTION FAILURE
OVERVIEW
The investigation of collapse of a five storey
reinforced concrete flat plate structure under
construction is presented
Most probable cause of the failure was
insufficient punching shear capacity in 5th floor
slab to resist construction loads.
Two factors contributed the low punching shear
capacity,
At design stage
Smaller slab thickness
At construction stage
Chairs having insufficient height to support top reinforcement
Content
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Background
Type of
structure
Use of
building
Nature of
collapse
Calamities
Inspection
Five storey flat plate RCC

structure
RESIDENTIAL-Under construction
During the placement of concrete
for roof slab, the entire structure
collapsed vertically with each
floor slab breaking away from the
columns and landing on the
ground floor
11 workers died, 23 injured
OSHA(Occupational safety and health
Documents supplied by OSHA

field office to NBS for analysis
Construction documents
DESCRIPTION OF THE STRUCTURE

AND COLLAPSE
BUILDING PLAN
Structure Details
G+5 RCC flat Plate construction
Overall dimensions: 242 ft.(74mt.) x 58ft.(18mt.)
Formwork system used: Flying Forms
Concrete grade: 4000 psi(27.60 Mpa)
Grade of steel: Deformed bars ASTM grade 60
Live load
ROOF-20 psf(0.96 Kn/m2)

FLOOR- 40 psf(1.91 kn/m2)
PUBLIC BALCONY- 60 psf (2.87 kn/m2)
STAIRWAYS- 80 psf(4.78 kn/m2)
Structure Details
Column
size:
254 mm x 457 mm
254 mm x 305 mm(on grid line A and K)
203 mm x 305 mm(exterior of stairwells)
Slab
Thickness:
Floor slabs 203 mm

Balcony slab varied from 184mm to 165mm
at the edge
Walkway slab 191 mm
The elevator tower was structurally detached
from the building
Structure Details
The elevator tower was structurally detached

from the building.
At the foundation Lvl, the columns were
supported by pile caps containing two to nine
piles each
The exterior caps were connected by
continuous wall footings
Non Load bearing concrete masonry
construction was used for the exterior walls of
the building.
CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY
CONSTRUCTION METHOD
FALSEWORK SYSTEM USED- FLYING FORMS
FLYING FORMS
CONSTRUCTION METHOD
CONSTRUCTION METHOD
CONSTRUCTION
METHOD
CONSTRUCTION METHOD
CONSTRUCTION METHOD
RESHORE
LAYOUT
CONSTRUCTIO
N METHOD
COLLAPSE
EVENT
The collapse occurred at approximately 3:00

p.m., on march 27,1981.
It appears to have been triggered by a failure in

the fifth story slab in the center position of the
building, and propagated straight down to the
ground.
As a result, 11 workers died, and another 23

were injured.
The stage of construction at

time of collpase
COLLAPSE
COLLAPSE
COLLAPSE
Location of workers
in building at time
of collapse
SITE INVESTIGTION
BASED ON SITE VISIT

Types of high chairs used
5.75IHC(146mm)(Individual high chairs)

for one way top r/f in middle strips)
4.25IHC
for two way top r/f in the column strips
The use of 5.75 chairs with 5 support bars

would result in a clear cover of 0.88 to
1.12(22-29mm) at middle strips to the top.
This exceeds the 0.75 (19mm) cover specified
in structural drawings but it is within the 9,5mm
tolerance limit.
BASED ON SITE VISIT
At the column strips, the use of 4.25(108mm)

chairs where slab is 8(203mm)thick would
result in a net cover ranging from 41mm to
54mm for bar sizes 5 and 8.
During the investigation , The calculated
effective depth at a column where the top r/f in
the slab consists of 8 & 9 is 5.3(135mm)
which are less than required effective depth
6.3(160mm) thick.
Less effective depth is provided.
The increase in eff. Depth by 1 increase the
critical cross sectional area to resist the
punching shear by 25%, which, in turn,
BASED ON SITE VISIT
BASED ON SITE VISIT
BASED ON SITE VISIT
The failure mode appeared to be of the

punching shear type, because the slabs had
broken away from the columns at the slabcolumn interface.
There was no evidence that sideways or
overturning of the building had occurred.
Measurements of the outside dimensions of
selected column and slab sections indicated
conformity with the structural drawings.
The reinforcing steel in some first story columns
did not meet the clear spacing requirements of
ACI code.
BASED ON WORKER
INTERVIEW
It was not possible to establish the exact layout

of reshores at the time of collapse.
Floor
Amount of reshores
4th
Full
3rd
Not enough
2nd
Not enough
1st
Few exterior reshores

in place
Extensive cracking occurred in floor slabs when

supporting formwork was removed.
BASED ON WORKER
INTERVIEW
The concrete produced by the on site batch

plant was non uniform in terms of consistency
and finishability.
Description of the collapse by workers on the

site indicate that the most probable origin of the
collapse was in fifth floor slab in the vicinity
beneath where the roof concrete was being
placed.
LAB INVESTIGTION
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the laboratory investigations

was to establish the strength of concrete in the
structure at the time of collapse.
The approach used involved gathering data

from site and preparing concrete mixtures
representative of the inplace concrete.
TESTS CONDUCTED
INFERENCES FROM
INVESTIGATION
There was insufficient documentation of the

quantities of ingredients used in each batch of
concrete.
The compressive strength of cored taken from slab

sections satisfied the ACI code strength criteria for
a specified strength of 4000 psi(27.6 Mpa).
The compressive strength of cores taken from

column sections were lower than the strength of
slab cores, and the average strength of the cores
from the fifth column did not satisfy the ACI code
criteria for the specified strength.
INFERENCES FROM
INVESTIGATION
Core strength values had high variability.
Petrographic analyses of core samples revealed that

the volumetric proportions of paste and aggregate
were in agreement with the stated mix designs. The
proportions, however, did show high variability.
The computed cement contents based on the

chemical analysis of core samples were lower than
stated in the mix designs. Since the low values are
inconsistent with the core strengths, it was
concluded that the calculated cement content
values were imprecise.
INFERENCES FROM
INVESTIGATION
The strength development curves of the three

mixes prepared by NBS were consistent with the
average value of core strengths.
The tensile strength characteristics of the NBS

mixes were typical of normal weight concrete.
The reinforcing steel was grade 60.
COLLPASESTRUCTURE ANALYSIS
EFFECT OF SHORING AND

RESHORING
Regardless of the shoring scheme used, as

construction progresses upward, the building is
subjected to unidentical cycle of loading and
unloading which produce residual forces in the
structure.
At certain stage of construction, when a new floor is
cast, the forces introduced combine with the residual
forces to produce the highest load in particular slab
The magnitude of this load depend
on the shoring system used
stiffness properties of the partially matured concrete structure
amount of precompressions in the reshores where they are
first installed
EFFECT OF SHORING AND

RESHORING IN HARBOUR CAY
In this case, flying forms were used.

At the time of the collapse, three stories were
reshored with wood posts.
A flying form is an integrated system which
incorporates shores and formwork into a large
unit capable of forming several bays at a time.
The method of replacing flying forms with
reshores results in unloading a tier of bays at a
time( 2 or 3 bays in this case), allowing the floor
above that area to deflect under its own weight
before reshores are installed.
METHODOLOGY FOR
ANALYSIS
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF
LOADING AT TIME OF COLLAPSE
The self weight of structure
The weight of fresh concrete in the roof slab
The weight of the shoring system
The weight of the construction workers,

equipments and materials
Wind
Impact
RESULTS
RESULTS
DESIGNING OMISSIONS
There was no calculations to indicate whether

the deflection or minimum thickness provisions
of the code were met.
There was no calculations to indicate whether

the punching shear and beam shear provisions
of the code were met.
There were no checks to determine if the

column reinforcement would satisfy the
necessary spacing requirements specified by
the code
DESIGNING OMISSIONS
The steel area calculations for the flexural

reinforcement in the slabs were based on ASTM
Grade 40 steel. This is at variance with the
grade 60 steel specified in the structural
drawings.
The effective depth of the slab in flexural

reinforcement calculations was not defined
explicitly but appeared as part of a constant
multiplier of computed moments. Back
calculations showed that the designer used the
value of around 6.3 inch (160 mm) for the
effective depth in steel area calculations.
INFERENCES FROM ANALYSIS
Flat plate structures are inherent weak in shear at

the slab-column connection and, when punching
shear failure occurs, the structure is highly
susceptible to progressive collapse unless it is
adequately designed and carefully constructed.
The use of lower individual chairs for supporting

the top layer reinforcing bars in the column strips
than required to provide the 0.75 (19mm) cover
called for in the structure drawing reduced the
effective depth and punching shear capacity of
slab.
INFERENCES FROM ANALYSIS
Omission in the slab design of a check for

punching shear resulted in an 8 slab which was
shallower than needed to safely support the
design loads for the complete structure.
This reduced the margin of safety such that the

slab had insufficient reserve strength to
accommodate the use of 4.25(108 mm)
individual high chairs within the column strips.
COLLAPSE
The structure analysis showed that failure of the

slab most likely initiated at column G-2.
The analysis also showed that the shear
stresses at many column locations on the fifth
floor exceeded that nominal shear strength.
Once punching shear failure had initiated at
column G-2, it propagated throughout the slab
causing the total collapse of fifth floor, which, in
turn, caused the successive collapse of the
lower floor slabs.
LESSONS LEARNED.
LESSONS LEARNED..
A punching shear strength check is critical to the

success of a flat-slab, since punching shear is the
most common failure mode of concrete slabs.
Minimum depth of a flat-slab must be checked to

assure proper strength and acceptable deflections.
Reinforcing bars, both at the top and at the bottom

of the slab, should be placed directly within the
column periphery to avoid progressive collapse.
This can easily be accomplished routinely in all
flat-slab jobs at no additional cost at all.
LESSONS LEARNED..
Proper construction control must be provided in

the field, including design of formwork by
professionals. This must include shoring and
reshoring plans, procedures, and schedules, with
data on minimum allowable stripping strength of
the concrete.
When there are failure warning signs of any type

on a construction site, work must stop. All aspects
of the project must be carefully evaluated by
experienced professional help. Immediate
evacuation of the structure must be considered.
LESSONS LEARNED..
Redundancy within structural design is essential

to prevent progressive collapse.
Before the removal of shoring, the concrete

strength should be ascertained.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
The Harbour Cay Condominium collapse
demonstrates
the
consequences
of
improper
design
and
construction
procedures.
A punching shear failure on the fifth floor
initiated a progressive collapse of the
entire structure.
Punching shear calculations were omitted
by the structural engineer when the
structure was designed. Reinforcement
bars were placed too low in the concrete
slabs, which reduced the effective depth
CONCLUSION
Warning signs of a potential failure were
brought to the attention of supervisors

and the structural engineer but were
basically ignored.
The Harbor Cay disaster could have easily
been prevented had simple design checks
and careful construction techniques been
performed.
REFERENCES
Norbert J. Delatte Jr., BEYOND FAILURE,
JULY 2008
H.S.Lew,
N.J.Carino,
S.G.Fattal
and
M.E.Batts, Investigation of construction
failure of harbour cay condominium in
cocoa beach, Florida, National Bureau of
standards,August,1982.
Formwork failure: cases and causes, the
master builder, march 2012
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CONSTRUCTION FAILURE

Investigation of construction failure of

PRESENTED BY:ROSHAN PRAJAPATI ( PT401716

Five storey flat plate RCC

Documents supplied by OSHA

DESCRIPTION OF THE STRUCTURE

G+5 RCC flat Plate construction

Overall dimensions: 242 ft.(74mt.) x 58ft.(18mt.)

Formwork system used: Flying Forms

Concrete grade: 4000 psi(27.60 Mpa)

Grade of steel: Deformed bars ASTM grade 60

ROOF-20 psf(0.96 Kn/m2)

Floor slabs 203 mm

The elevator tower was structurally detached

FALSEWORK SYSTEM USED- FLYING FORMS

The collapse occurred at approximately 3:00

It appears to have been triggered by a failure in

As a result, 11 workers died, and another 23

The stage of construction at

BASED ON SITE VISIT

5.75IHC(146mm)(Individual high chairs)

The use of 5.75 chairs with 5 support bars

BASED ON SITE VISIT

At the column strips, the use of 4.25(108mm)

BASED ON SITE VISIT

BASED ON SITE VISIT

BASED ON SITE VISIT

The failure mode appeared to be of the

It was not possible to establish the exact layout

Few exterior reshores

Extensive cracking occurred in floor slabs when

The concrete produced by the on site batch

Description of the collapse by workers on the

The objective of the laboratory investigations

The approach used involved gathering data

There was insufficient documentation of the

The compressive strength of cored taken from slab

The compressive strength of cores taken from

Core strength values had high variability.

Petrographic analyses of core samples revealed that

The computed cement contents based on the

The strength development curves of the three

The tensile strength characteristics of the NBS

The reinforcing steel was grade 60.

EFFECT OF SHORING AND

Regardless of the shoring scheme used, as

EFFECT OF SHORING AND

In this case, flying forms were used.

The self weight of structure

The weight of fresh concrete in the roof slab

The weight of the shoring system

The weight of the construction workers,

There was no calculations to indicate whether

There was no calculations to indicate whether

There were no checks to determine if the

The steel area calculations for the flexural

The effective depth of the slab in flexural

INFERENCES FROM ANALYSIS