Foundation Failures - Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering - page 7

FARGO GRAIN ELEVATOR
(1956)
Beginning in the summer of 1954, a reinforced concrete grain elevator was
constructed on level field near Fargo, North Dakota. During the autumn and the
winter of 1954, a small amount of grain was placed in the elevator. Major filling of
the elevator did not begin until the latter part of April 1955. On the morning of June
12, 1955, the elevator experienced a classic, full-scale bearing capacity failure, and
was completely destroyed.
The grain elevator was a reinforced concrete structure consisting of twenty
circular bins, twenty-six small interstitial bins at one end, and a combined bin and
work-house at the other end of the structure. In plan, the structure is a long
rectangular area measuring 16 by 67 m (52 by 218 ft) overall. The structure's
foundation was a reinforced concrete raft of 0.7 m (2.3 ft) in thickness. The bottom of
the raft foundation was located 1.8 m (6 ft) below grade. Sheet piles lined the raft
periphery and were thought to be driven to a depth of 5.5 m (18 ft). The elevator was
founded on the fine grained sediments of Old Lake Aggassiz.
A study including a subsoil investigation and laboratory testing was conducted
to determine if the failure had resulted from inadequate bearing capacity of the
subsoil. The results of the study indicated that overstressing of the subsoil was the
reason for the failure. Investigation of full-scale foundation failures are rare; like the
Transcona grain elevator failure, this case also affords the opportunity to assess the
state-of-the-art in bearing capacity analysis.
Lessons Learned
The Fargo grain elevator collapse provides a full-scale example of a textbook bearing
capacity failure. The failure provided unique and useful bearing capacity data for
assessing the validity of state-of-the-art analytical procedures.
References
Deere, D.U., and Davisson, M.T. (1965). " Behavior of Grain Elevator Foundations
Subjected to Cyclic Loading," Fifth International Conference on Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engineering .
Delatte, Norbert J. (2009). Beyond Failure: Forensic Case Studies for Civil
Engineers , ASCE Press, Reston, VA, 251-255.
Morley, J. (1996). “'Acts of God': The Symbolic and Technical Significance of
Foundation Failures,” Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities ,
10(1), 23 - 31.
Norlund, R.L. and Deere, D.U. (1970). "Collapse of Fargo Grain Elevator," Journal
of the Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering Division , 96(SM2), 585-
607.