America's Cup hydraulic cylinder failure (7,500 psi)

Cited as a sample focused-failure topic appropriate for a student presentation: a 7,500 psi hydraulic cylinder that failed and had to be redesigned to fail safe.

State what the problem is. That's one overhead. The other nine are basically what's the solution. Things students have done: pole-vaulting poles — one year I had two students do pole-vaulting poles, and it's an interesting composite material, has to be very flexible, has to be very strong, has to be very light. Tennis racquets. Gothic arches like the flying buttresses on cathedrals from 800 years ago in Europe. Sailing hardware. I don't want how to build an America's Cup yacht — that's too complex. But you could have, like one of my lectures, the failure of a 7,500 psi hydraulic cylinder that failed and how we had to design it to fail safe. Another student was interested in bayonets. Anything you want, because if it's of interest to you you'll do a good job.