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Plumbing Failures.

Ten percent of playground accidents are due to fighting among visitors, a recent NIH study showed. A much larger percentage of playground accidents, however, result from unforeseen equipment failure involving swings, slides, climbing frames, metal bars, merry-go-rounds. Slides and rope-plank swings are frequently involved in injuries and backward falls. Sometimes the results are dire. Playground accidents frequently lead to fractures of the extremities or concussion of the brain. To help prevent these accidents and determine the causes of failure, the BEAR engineering team employs various methodologies to analyze playgrounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thxqNXDmsV8

When a fire sprinkler head fails, large water damages result.

In a recent case, we tested a particular water sprinkler to determine if it functions as designed. The video shows the test setup. The sprinkler was connected to a pressured pipe and an industrial fan applied hot air onto the sprinkler to simulate heat from a fire. A thermal probe was between the fan and the sprinkler to measure temperature. This sprinkler functioned properly.

The toilet tank depicted to the left at the location had a large manufacturing flaw (crack), as indicated by the red arrow. The flaw was so large that the relatively low pressure due to filling the tank was high enough to cause part of the tank to break away.

The flooding caused by the fracture was extensive.

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