Decoding Disasters: An Engineering Approach to Understanding Technical Failures and Natural Catastrophes...

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Anthony Sofronas (ExxonMobil)

Decoding Disasters

An Engineering Approach to Understanding Technical Failures and Natural Catastrophes

Anthony Sofronas (ExxonMobil)

$197.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

John Wiley & Sons Inc
09 December 2025

Industrial chemistry; Chemical engineering; Materials science

Understanding failures and disasters using case studies and simple engineering techniques

Decoding Disasters provides illustrated failure case histories on a multitude of technologies and shows how engineering analysis can explain and help professionals understand them. For each case, the analysis technique is included so that the reader can adapt and apply it to their own situation. Different techniques are developed to show how the methods can be applied in various disciplines. This book guides readers to determine what likely occurred in each case with a minimum amount of data and without speculating.

Each example in this book states the problem, theorizes a conceptual cause, verifies the cause by analysis (i.e. a mathematical model) and actual data, shows the use of the various engineering equations, and documents a solution.

In this comprehensive guide, readers will learn about:

Viewing disasters not solely as a matter of emergency response, but also more holistically as social constructs between natural extremes, human populations, and the built environment Economic, environmental, and human impacts of disasters How growth calculations can evaluate the past and present and be applied to likely future events Disasters stemming from shortcuts in the design process to meet the demands and needs of society

This book is an excellent learning resource not only for practicing engineers, but also government and regulatory officials who can enact changes to prevent future repeat failures.

By: Anthony Sofronas (ExxonMobil)
Imprint: John Wiley & Sons Inc
Country of Publication: United States
ISBN: 9781394319503
ISBN 10: 1394319509
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 09 December 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dr. Anthony Sofronas is the former Worldwide Lead Mechanical Engineer for ExxonMobil. He was involved with machinery troubleshooting for 50 years with over 130 publications and presented over 30 industry seminars worldwide on machinery troubleshooting. Sofronas served as owner of Engineered Products (engineering consulting and seminars) for 16 years. He was Contributing Editor for Hydrocarbon Processing Magazine for 16 years on machinery and pressure vessel troubleshooting (110 articles). He has written multiple books published by Wiley.