Learning from other fields: Bridges
1800s: 1/4 iron truss railroad bridges failed!
Safety is now part of Civil Engineering DNA
- “Structural engineering is the science and art of designing and making, with economy and elegance, buildings, bridges, frameworks, and similar structures so that they can safely resist the forces to which they may be subjected”
Techniques invented since 1800s:
- Learn from failures vs. successes
- Redundancy to survive some failures
- Margin of safety 3X-6X vs. calculated load
What is CS&E version of safety margin?