Overview

Understanding failures and disasters using case studies and simple engineering techniques Decoding Disasters provides illustrated failure case histories on a multitude of technologies and shows how engineering analysis can explain and help professionals understand them. For each case, the analysis technique is included so that the reader can adapt and apply it to their own situation. Different techniques are developed to show how the methods can be applied in various disciplines. This book guides readers to determine what likely occurred in each case with a minimum amount of data and without speculating. Each example in this book states the problem, theorizes a conceptual cause, verifies the cause by analysis (i.e. a mathematical model) and actual data, shows the use of the various engineering equations, and documents a solution. In this comprehensive guide, readers will learn about: Viewing disasters not solely as a matter of emergency response, but also more holistically as social constructs between natural extremes, human populations, and the built environment Economic, environmental, and human impacts of disasters How growth calculations can evaluate the past and present and be applied to likely future events Disasters stemming from shortcuts in the design process to meet the demands and needs of society This book is an excellent learning resource not only for practicing engineers, but also government and regulatory officials who can enact changes to prevent future repeat failures.

Full Product Details

Author:   Anthony Sofronas (ExxonMobil)
Publisher:   John Wiley & Sons Inc
Imprint:   John Wiley & Sons Inc
ISBN:  

9781394319503

ISBN 10:   1394319509
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   09 December 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

Contents Introduction Acknowledgements Chapter 1  Methods For Analyzing Failures 1.1 Mathematical Modelling 1.2 Methods For Solving Problems 1.2.1 The Scientific Method 1.3 The Crack Growth Equation 1.4 Failure Of Carbon Fiber In Compressive Fatigue 1.5 Failure Of Carbon Fiber, Titanium and Steels In Compressive Fatigue 1.6 Cycles To Failure For Carbon Fiber Laminate And Stainless Steel 1.7 Ockham's Razor   Chapter 2 Industrial Mechanical Equipment Failures 2.1 Failure In A Large Stirred Processing Reactor 2.2 Spline Lock-Up and Broken Shaft Due To Extruder Wear 2.3 Ship Propeller Impact Damage 2.4 How A Turbo Jet Aircraft Engine Works And Fails 2.5 Failure of a G.E. CF-6-6 Turbo-Fan Fan Disk On a DC-10 2.6 Loss Of A Turbine Blade   Chapter 3  Industrial Mechanical Vibration Failures 3.1 Examining An Aircraft Engine-Gearbox-Propeller Torsional System 3.2 Coupling Failure Of A Motor-Gearbox-High Speed Compressor System 3.3 The Slip-Stick Phenomena 3.4 The Windshield Wiper Chatter Problem 3.5 Catastrophic Failure Of A Vibrating Centrifuge Deck Chapter 4 Catastrophic Implosion Of The Deep Sea Submersible Titan 4.1 Titan Deep Diving Vessel Implosion 4.2 Evidence From Titan Debris 4.3 The Titan Submersible Design   Chapter 5  Potential Earth Catastrophes 5.1 What Is The Chance The 2029 Meteor Apophis Will Impact Earth? 5.2 What Damage Would An Asteroid Impact Such As Apophis Cause? 5.3 What If The Chelyabinsk Meteor Had Impacted Earth? 5.4 Preventing An Asteroid From Impacting Earth 5.5 The Damage Potential Of Solar Flares   Chapter 6 Flight Dynamics And Major Disasters 6.1 How Does An Aircraft Fly? 6.2 Stalls And Flat Spins And Crash of Flight 2283 6.3 How Can A Drone Helicopter Fly On Mars ? 6.4 Disappearance Of Malaysian Flight MH370 6.5 Why Did The Nose Wheel Collapse On A Boeing 767? 6.6 What Happened To The Space Shuttle Columbia? 6.7 Why Did The Door Blow Out Of The Boeing 737 Max 9 ? 6.8 Why Did Hail Destroy The Nose Of An Airbus 320 ? 6.9 Damage Due To A Tire Falling Off A Boeing 777 Aircraft 6.10 How Does A Hummingbird Fly? 6.11 How Do Fish Swim?   Chapter 7 Impact Disasters 7.1 Average And Peak Impact Forces 7.2 Examining The Head On Impact Of Two Vehicles 7.3 Design Use Of The Head On Impact Equation 7.4 Can A Water Filled Membrane Be Used As A Safety Device? 7.5 What Happens When A Turkey Vulture Impacts A Car?   Chapter 8 Structure Failures 8.1 What Causes Tower Cranes To Collapse? 8.2 Walkway Collapse 8.3 Bridge Collapse With Ship Impact 8.4 Collapse of Electrical Power Transmission Towers 8.5 The Progressive Failure Collapse Of Structurally Deficient Buildings   Chapter 9  Concerns Relating To Heat Transfer 9.1 Elevated Temperature In A Vehicle 9.2 How Long Should It Take To Heat My Home? 9.3 Fireplace Heat Transfer 9.4 Raising The Temperature Of A Room With A Fireplace   Chapter 10 Explosion Catastrophes 10.1 Can A Kitchen Full Of Natural Gas Destroy A Home? 10.2 Would The Home Water Heater Explode? 10.3 Would The Pressure Cooker Actually Explode? 10.4 How Does An Underground Pipeline Explode? 10.5 Explosive Effect Of A Volume Of Enclosed Vapor   Chapter 11 Natural Disasters 11.1 How Are Tornadoes Formed? 11.2 Force Of A Tornado 11.3 How Are Hurricanes Formed? 11.4 Determining The Effect Of A Hurricane’s Storm Surge 11.5 Determining A Hurricane’s Path 11.6 Lateral Sliding And Vertical Uplift Earthquake Models 11.7 Yellowstone Caldera Is Rising, When Will It Erupt Or Will It? 11.8 Why The Yellowstone Caldera Plate Surface Doesn’t Get Hot 11.9 The Next Great Tsunami 11.10 What Causes Straight Line Wind Damage? 11.11 Will The Tilting Tree Up-Root? 11.12 Why Didn’t The Tree Limb Break? 11.13 Why Did The Tree Splinter In A Hurricane? 11.14 Some Final Thoughts About Trees   Chapter 12  Catastrophes Relating To Flooding 12.1 A Simple Explanation Of Flooding Using A Bathtub Analogy 12.2 Why Didn’t My Home Flood? 12.3 Why Does Lake Houston Rise Above The Spillway? 12.4 Kingwood Flooding May 1-3, 2024 12.5 What Caused The Street To Flood? 12.6 Sudden Flooding Of Kingwood Drive   Chapter 13  Probabilities 13.1  Are We All Alone In The Universe? 13.2  What Is The Probability Of A Piece Of Machinery Failing This Year? 13.3  Reciprocating Gas-Engine Compressors Failures 13.4  Pressure Vessels, Piping , Steam Boiler Failures 13.5  Other Type Machinery Failures   Chapter 14  Why Question The Ingenuity Of Humans? 14.1 How Did The Egyptians Transport 75 Ton Granite Stones From the Quarry? 14.2 How Were The Pyramids Built? 14.3 How Did The Ancients Move Mega-Blocks On Hard Land? 14.4 Using A Human Powered Crane To Lift Mega-Blocks 14.5 Moving Huge Pyramid Stones By Rolling 14.6 Moving Large Blocks With Rollers On Rails Chapter 15  Some Curious Questions Answered 15.1 Why Does A Whip Make A Large Crack Noise? 15.2 My Wife’s Broken Chair And A Failure Cause 15.3 Zero Is Equal To One Or Mathematics Can Trick You 15.4 Why Won’t My Truck Start? 15.5 Force Of A Hardball On A Bat And Hand 15.6 Why Doesn't My Hand Hurt When I Hit A Nail With A Hammer? 15.7 Pop-Out Strength Of High Rise Windows   Chapter 16  Engineering Equations Explained 16.1 Force Balance 16.2 Inertial Law or Newton's Second Law 16.3 Centrifugal Force 16.4 Potential Energy (P.E.) 16.5 Kinetic Energy (K.E.) 16.6 Energy Balances In Mechanical 16.7 Energy Balances In Heat Transfer 16.8 Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation 16.9 The Specific Heat Equation 16.10 Shear Force and Pressures 16.11 Energy Caused By Frictional Rubbing And Shearing 16.12 The Momentum Equation And The Conservation Of Momentum 16.13 Probability Of Something Occurring In A Given Time 16.14 Developing Tsunami Surface Velocity And Wave Height 16.15 A Glancing Hail Strike Index

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Author Information

Dr. Anthony Sofronas is the former Worldwide Lead Mechanical Engineer for ExxonMobil. He was involved with machinery troubleshooting for 50 years with over 130 publications and presented over 30 industry seminars worldwide on machinery troubleshooting. Sofronas served as owner of Engineered Products (engineering consulting and seminars) for 16 years. He was Contributing Editor for Hydrocarbon Processing Magazine for 16 years on machinery and pressure vessel troubleshooting (110 articles). He has written multiple books published by Wiley.

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