Engineering Bookshelf

Forensic Engineering Investigation

Forensic Engineering Investigation is a compendium of the investigative methodologies used by engineers and scientific investigators to evaluate some of the more common types of failures and catastrophic events. In essence, the book provides analyses and methods for determining how an entity was damaged and when that damage may have legal consequences.

The material covers 21 common types of failures, catastrophic events, and losses that forensic engineers routinely assess. The range of topics include wind and blasting damage to structures, vehicular accidents, fires, explosions, hail damage to roofs and exteriors, lighting damage, and industrial guarding accidents.

Beyond Failure: Forensic Case Studies for Civil Engineers

"Beyond Failure" presents the circumstances of important failures that have had wide-reaching impacts on civil engineering practice. Each case study narrates the known facts of the situation: design and construction, the failure, subsequent investigation or analysis, and, where appropriate, additional issues such as technical concerns, ethical considerations, professional practice issues, and long-term effects.

The case studies are organized around eight common topics of undergraduate engineering courses, and each case study has teaching points and a reading list, so this book is useful to engineering faculty and their students. With more than 40 full cases, this book will also appeal to practicing engineers with an interest in forensic investigations or the analysis of historic failures.

Forensic Engineering Fundamentals

Forensic engineers often specialize in a particular area such as structures, fires, or accident reconstruction. However, the nature of the work often requires broad knowledge in the interrelated areas of physics, chemistry, biomechanics, and engineering.

Covering cases as varied as assessment of workplace accidents to the investigation of Halliburton in the BP oil spill, Forensic Engineering Fundamentals is a comprehensive introduction to the many diverse facets of the field that forensic engineers must be familiar with in their practice.