The Structural failure reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Structural failure

Structural failure occurs when a structure breaks in such a way that it can no longer carry as much load as it could before the failure. The moment beyond which a structure cannot bear any load is referred to as ultimate structural failure, or simply ultimate failure. Ultimate failure is one of the limit states that must be accounted for in civil engineering.

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