Proper treatment of structural behavior under severe loading - such as the performance of a high-rise building during an earthquake - relies heavily on the use of probability-based analysis and decision-making tools. Proper application of these tools is significantly enhanced by a thorough understanding of the underlying theoretical and computation

sections dealing with fuzzy functions and fuzzy random functions are certain to be of special interest. The reader is expected to be in command of the knowledge gained in a basic university mathematics course, with the inclusion of stochastic elements. A specification of uncertainty in any particular case is often difficult. For this reason Chaps. 3 and 4 are devoted solely to this problem. The derivation of fuzzy variables for representing informal and lexical uncertainty reflects the subjective assessment of objective conditions in the form of a membership function. Techniques for modeling fuzzy random variables are presented for data that simultaneously exhibit stochastic and nonstochastic properties. The application of fuzzy randomness is demonstrated in three fields of civil engineering and computational mechanics: structural analysis, safety assessment, and design. The methods of fuzzy structural analysis and fuzzy probabilistic structural analysis developed in Chap. 5 are applicable without restriction to arbitrary geometrically and physically nonlinear problems. The most important forms of the latter are the Fuzzy Finite Element Method (FFEM) and the Fuzzy Stochastic Finite Element Method (FSFEM).

Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management and Life-Cycle Optimization contains the lectures and papers presented at IABMAS 2010, the Fifth International Conference of the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety (IABMAS), held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA from July 11 through 15, 2010.All major aspects of bridge maintenance, s

The book presents state-of-the-art works in computational engineering. Focus is on mathematical modeling, numerical simulation, experimental validation and visualization in engineering sciences. In particular, the following topics are presented: constitutive models and their implementation into finite element codes, numerical models in nonlinear elasto-dynamics including seismic excitations, multiphase models in structural engineering and multiscale models of materials systems, sensitivity and reliability analysis of engineering structures, the application of scientific computing in urban water management and hydraulic engineering, and the application of genetic algorithms for the registration of laser scanner point clouds.

Focusing on fundamental principles, Hydro-Environmental Analysis: Freshwater Environments presents in-depth information about freshwater environments and how they are influenced by regulation. It provides a holistic approach, exploring the factors that impact water quality and quantity, and the regulations, policy and management methods that are necessary to maintain this vital resource. It offers a historical viewpoint as well as an overview and foundation of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics affecting the management of freshwater environments. The book concentrates on broad and general concepts, providing an interdisciplinary foundation. The author covers the methods of measurement and classification; chemical, physical, and biological characteristics; indicators of ecological health; and management and restoration. He also considers common indicators of environmental health; characteristics and operations of regulatory control structures; applicable laws and regulations; and restoration methods. The text delves into rivers and streams in the first half and lakes and reservoirs in the second half. Each section centers on the characteristics of those systems and methods of classification, and then moves on to discuss the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of each. In the section on lakes and reservoirs, it examines the characteristics and operations of regulatory structures, and presents the methods commonly used to assess the environmental health or integrity of these water bodies. It also introduces considerations for restoration, and presents two unique aquatic environments: wetlands and reservoir tailwaters. Written from an engineering perspective, the book is an ideal introduction to the aquatic and limnological sciences for students of environmental science, as well as students of environmental engineering. It also serves as a reference for engineers and scientists involved in the management, regulation, or restoration of freshwater environments.

Safety, Reliability, Risk and Life-Cycle Performance of Structures and Infrastructures contains the plenary lectures and papers presented at the 11th International Conference on STRUCTURAL SAFETY AND RELIABILITY (ICOSSAR2013, New York, NY, USA, 16-20 June 2013), and covers major aspects of safety, reliability, risk and life-cycle performance of str

The book covers the application of numerical methods to reinforced concrete structures. To analyze reinforced concrete structures linear elastic theories are inadequate because of cracking, bond and the nonlinear and time dependent behavior of both concrete and reinforcement. These effects have to be considered for a realistic assessment of the behavior of reinforced concrete structures with respect to ultimate limit states and serviceability limit states. The book gives a compact review of finite element and other numerical methods. The key to these methods is through a proper description of material behavior. Thus, the book summarizes the essential material properties of concrete and reinforcement and their interaction through bond. These basics are applied to different structural types such as bars, beams, strut and tie models, plates, slabs and shells. This includes prestressing of structures, cracking, nonlinear stressstrain relations, creeping, shrinkage and temperature changes. Appropriate methods are developed for each structural type. Large displacement and dynamic problems are treated as well as short-term quasi-static problems and long-term transient problems like creep and shrinkage. Most problems are illustrated by examples which are solved by the program package ConFem, based on the freely available Python programming language. The ConFem source code together with the problem data is available under open source rules at concrete-fem.com. The author aims to demonstrate the potential and the limitations of numerical methods for simulation of reinforced concrete structures, addressing students, teachers, researchers and designing and checking engineers.