Collapse means the partial or total loss of support or stability of a building, ground, or other structure due to a variety of reasons, resulting in the collapse or collapse of the overall structure.

1. Definition and causes of collapse:

Definition: collapse is the phenomenon in which a building, ground, or other structure collapses or breaks down as a result of damage or loss of stability of the internal structure when subjected to external forces.

Causes: The causes of collapse can be manifold, including natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, storms, floods, etc.), structural design defects, material quality problems, improper construction, long-term loading effects, foundation settlement, etc.

2. Types of building collapse:

Partial collapse: refers to the loss of support or stability of a part of a building or structure, resulting in the collapse or collapse of that part, but the overall structure did not completely collapse.

Total collapse: refers to the loss of support or stability of all parts of a building or structure, resulting in the complete collapse of the overall structure.

3. Impact of collapse on personal safety:

Personal injuries and deaths: When a collapse occurs, people trapped under the collapsed building or structure may be injured or even killed.

Psychological impact: collapses often give witnesses and survivors great psychological trauma, which can have long-term adverse effects on their lives and work.

4. Measures to prevent and cope with collapses:

Optimization of structural design: In the design process of buildings and other structures, all kinds of external forces and loading conditions should be taken into full consideration, and appropriate design solutions should be adopted to ensure the stability and seismic capacity of the structure.

Construction quality management: the construction is carried out in strict accordance with the relevant norms and standards to ensure that the quality of each construction link is effectively controlled.

Regular testing and maintenance: regular safety testing and maintenance of buildings and other structures, timely detection and repair of potential problems to ensure the stability of the structure.

Rational planning of centralized residential areas: In urban planning, centralized residential areas should be rationally planned to avoid overly dense buildings and high-rise buildings and reduce the risk of collapse.

5. Cases of collapse accidents:

Collapse of a high-rise residential building in Jingdezhen City (2016): due to design, construction and material problems, a high-rise residential building under construction led to many deaths and casualties during its collapse.

Moscow subway site collapse (2019): a subway site in the Russian city of Moscow collapsed, burying several people and causing serious injuries.

6. International Collapse Investigation and Research Organizations:

National Collapse Institute (NTI), USA: Responsible for investigating and researching collapses of buildings and other structures, and providing technical support and advice to improve structural safety.

The Institute for Structural Research (IStructE) in the UK: is dedicated to promoting the development of structural engineering and research to improve the seismic capacity and stability of buildings and structures through the development of standards and the provision of training.