In 1998-99 a large scale water feature located in down town Wichita, Kansas, failed twice due to the lack of expansion joints in the long masonry structure. After the first failure the engineer-of-record (EOR) failed to determine the cause of the failure and required the water wall to be rebuilt without any changes. After the identical second failure, and prior to initiating a second re-construction project, GES Tech Group (GES) was retained by the construction contractor to investigate the root cause of distress and ultimate failures.
GES evaluation of construction materials, laboratory testing, and detailed computer simulations of the unique curved geometry, identified the root cause of both failures as fundamental design defects. The issues were resolved in a unique mediation process involving GES, the EOR and experts retained by the City. Based on GES recommendations, a modified design, that corrected the EOR’s errors, was implemented.
A follow-up inspection conducted by GES in 2009 confirmed that the modifications successfully addressed the original design defects as there was no evidence of distress or cracking.
In 2009, the Water Wall feature was inspected and found to be sound with no evidence of distress.
