Why do buildings collapse? Basically, a building will collapse because of loss of structural integrity. That is the capacity to carry two types of loads; ie, self weight or dead load and imposed load, aka live load. The most common materials used in most of the buildings that have collapsed so far are concrete and steel, in a combination known as Vibrated Reinforced Concrete. This is used in columns, beams, walls, stairs and floor slabs. (of course there are other units such as stones, which may or may not be load bearing.) A good combination of concrete, ( very good on bearing compressive force) and steel,( good on tensile ) combine to form the structural integrity of a building. Since concrete is prepared wet, it has to be supported by formwork which is propped up. The concrete is allowed to harden and gain strength, by curing for a specific period of time. Most buildings collapse during this time, when the the formwork is removed before proper strength has been attained. Unscrupulous developers collude with unscrupulous builders to do shortcuts to save on costs and time thus compromising on standards! County Governments can hardly inspect every construction , every day for the duration of the construction.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 17:25:34 +0000
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