The increasing risk of severe droughts and water shortages emphasizes the need for an integrated approach to drought mitigation. However, effective tools for the implementation of such an approach have not been available till now. This book contributes to an improved preparedness for drought in water supply systems, providing tools useful for a better decision making process in drought management. It presents methods and software features of a Decision Support System (DSS) developed within a European research project and consists of three main parts. The first part deals with the advanced techniques for hydrological drought identification and monitoring; the second analyses the successful use of climate-crop-soil models in defining deficit irrigation strategies; the third provides tools for improving the operation of irrigation supply reservoirs. All methods are embedded in a user-friendly DSS package that has been applied in several Case Studies of Mediterranean countries (Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Jordan and Syria) and whose results are also compared.

This is the second volume of a comprehensive two-volume treatment of mechanics intended for students of civil and mechanical engineering. Used for several years in courses at Bradley university, the text presents dynamics in a clear and straightforward way and emphasizes problem solving. More than 350 examples clarify the discussion. The diskette included with the book contains EnSolve, a program written by the authors for solving problems in engineering mechanics. The program runs on Macintosh and PC-DOS computers and includes the following: - a unit converter for SI to US units and vice versa - a graphics program for plotting functions and data - a set of numerical subroutines The graphics module will, among other features, fit smooth splines between data, plot regression lines and curves, and change scales ß including from arithmetic to log and log-log. The numerical routines will, for example, find roots of polynomials, solve systems of equations, invert matrices, differentiate and integrate, and solve boundary-value problems.

Each year more than 200 million people are affected by floods, tropical storms, droughts, earthquakes, and also operational failures, wars, terrorism, vandalism, and accidents involving hazardous materials. These are part of the wide variety of events that cause death, injury, and significant economic losses for the countries affected.

In an environment where natural hazards are present, local actions are decisive in all stages of risk management: in the work of prevention and mitigation, in rehabilitation and reconstruction, and above all in emergency response and the provision of basic services to the affected population. Commitment to systematic vulnerability reduction is crucial to ensure the resilience of communities and populations to the impact of natural and manmade hazards.

Current challenges for the water and sanitation sector require an increase in sustainable access to water and sanitation services in residential areas, where natural hazards pose the greatest risk. In settlements located on unstable and risk-prone land there is growing environmental degradation coupled with extreme conditions of poverty that increase vulnerability. The development of local capacity and risk management play vital roles in obtaining sustainability of water and sanitation systems as well as for the communities themselves.

Unfortunately water may also represent a potential target for terrorist activity or war conflict and a deliberate contamination of water is a potential public health threat. An approach which considers the needs of communities and institutions is particularly important in urban areas affected by armed conflict. Risk management for large rehabilitation projects has to deal with major changes caused by conflict: damaged or destroyed infrastructure, increased population, corrupt or inefficient water utilities, and impoverished communities.

Water supply and sanitation are amongst the first considerations in disaster response. The greatest water-borne risk to health in most emergencies is the transmission of faecal pathogens, due to inadequate sanitation, hygiene and protection of water sources. However, some disasters, including those involving damage to chemical and nuclear industrial installations, or involving volcanic activity, may create acute problems from chemical or radiological water pollution. Sanitation includes safe excreta disposal, drainage of wastewater and rainwater, solid waste disposal and vector control.

This book is based on the discussions and papers prepared for the NATO Advanced Research Workshop that took place in Ohrid, Macedonia under the auspices of the NATO Security Through Science Programme and addressed problems Risk management of water supply and sanitation systems impaired by operational failures, natural disasters and war conflicts.

The main purpose of the workshop was to critically assess the existing knowledge on Risk management of water supply and sanitation systems, with respect to diverse conditions in participating countries, and promote close co-operation among scientists with different professional experience from different countries.

The ARW technical program comprised papers on 4 topics: (a) Vulnerability of Wastewater and Sanitation Systems, (b) Vulnerability of Drinking Water Systems, (c) Emergency response plans, and (d) Case studies from regions affected by Drinking Water System, Wastewater and Sanitation System failures.

Safety and reliability are important for the whole expected service duration of an engineering structure. Therefore, prognostical solutions for different building types are needed and uncertainties have to be handled. Life-cycle strategies to control future structural degradations by concepts of appropriate design have to be developed, in case including means of inspection, maintenance, and repair. Aspects of costs and sustainability also matter. The Cooperative Research Center for Lifetime-Oriented Design Concepts (SFB 398) at Ruhr University in Bochum combines the wide range of scientific topics between structural engineering, structural and soil mechanics and material sciences regarding structural lifetime management in this present extraordinary monolithic format. The characterization and modeling of lifetime-related external actions of multiple origin are presented in this book as well as the physical description, the modeling and the validation of material degradation. Adaptive numerical methods and simulation techniques are provided for the lifetime-oriented design concepts to forecast material and structural degradation. Stochastic aspects, mathematical optimization methods and interactions between various influences are included. Thus, a solid basis is provided for future practical use and also for standardization of structural design with respect to lifetime-prediction.

In this book the authors first describe the background of trusted platforms and trusted computing and speculate about the future. They then describe the technical features and architectures of trusted platforms from several different perspectives, finally explaining second-generation TPMs, including a technical description intended to supplement the Trusted Computing Group's TPM2 specifications. The intended audience is IT managers and engineers and graduate students in information security.

A proper quality of a track and other infrastructure objects represents a basic requirement for train safety and punctuality. Most of the physical systems and their components deteriorate over time. This affects performance and may lead to failures. Albert Einstein said, "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else." Only if we understand how the whole system works, taking into account its imperfections and how they influence its quality and performance will we be able to learn the rules of the game and "play better." The book provides the readers with the necessary functional knowledge of track behaviour and comprehensively covers the function of the various track components, their interaction as elements of the track system, as well as the interaction of the track with railway vehicles. By presenting important tools for a deep understanding of track-behaviour this book aims to be a reference guide for infrastructure managers and to help them to find ways improving track quality for optimum long-term behaviour.

Advances in Materials and Pavement Performance Prediction contains the papers presented at the International Conference on Advances in Materials and Pavement Performance Prediction (AM3P, Doha, Qatar, 16- 18 April 2018). There has been an increasing emphasis internationally in the design and construction of sustainable pavement systems. Advances in Materials and Pavement Prediction reflects this development highlighting various approaches to predict pavement performance. The contributions discuss links and interactions between material characterization methods, empirical predictions, mechanistic modeling, and statistically-sound calibration and validation methods. There is also emphasis on comparisons between modeling results and observed performance. The topics of the book include (but are not limited to): * Experimental laboratory material characterization * Field measurements and in situ material characterization * Constitutive modeling and simulation * Innovative pavement materials and interface systems * Non-destructive measurement techniques * Surface characterization, tire-surface interaction, pavement noise * Pavement rehabilitation * Case studies Advances in Materials and Pavement Performance Prediction will be of interest to academics and engineers involved in pavement engineering.

This book contributes to the current knowledge and research on conflict and cross-cultural dialogue, emphasizing how respect, tolerance and dialogue may be quite effective tools for bridging the diverse cultures and, consequently, for solving many of the conflicts of today's world, characterized by a dynamic interchange of populations with very diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For this purpose, we rely on reputed scholars from ten different countries, and from different cultures and fields of expertise, which allows for diverse contributions from a valuable interdisciplinary perspective. The first section of the book deals with the correlation between cultural differences and conflict, while also showing how such conflicts can be prevented and, should they arise, managed and solved. The second section addresses a different, more specific issue: how cultural expression means and tools for cultural communication may lead to conflict whereas they may help to avoid it as well. Finally, the third section analyzes how legal and justice systems deal with cross-cultural conflicts as well as with situations which may lead to cross-cultural conflicts, thus assessing to which extent such systems contribute to avoid and/or solve such kind of conflicts.

This book addresses surveillance in action-related applications, and presents novel research on military, civil and cyber surveillance from an international team of experts. The first part of the book, Surveillance of Human Features, reviews surveillance systems that use biometric technologies. It discusses various novel approaches to areas including gait recognition, face-based physiology-assisted recognition, face recognition in the visible and infrared bands, and cross-spectral iris recognition. The second part of the book, Surveillance for Security and Defense, discusses the ethical issues raised by the use of surveillance systems in the name of combatting terrorism and ensuring security. It presents different generations of satellite surveillance systems and discusses the requirements for real-time satellite surveillance in military contexts. In addition, it explores the new standards of surveillance using unmanned air vehicles and drones, proposes surveillance techniques for detecting stealth aircrafts and drones, and highlights key techniques for maritime border surveillance, bio-warfare and bio-terrorism detection. The last part of the book, Cyber Surveillance, provides a review of data hiding techniques that are used to hinder electronic surveillance. It subsequently presents methods for collecting and analyzing information from social media sites and discusses techniques for detecting internal and external threats posed by various individuals (such as spammers, cyber-criminals, suspicious users or extremists in general). The book concludes by examining how high-performance computing environments can be exploited by malicious users, and what surveillance methods need to be put in place to protect these valuable infrastructures. The book is primarily intended for military and law enforcement personnel who use surveillance-related technologies, as well as researchers, Master's and Ph.D. students who are interested in learning about the latest advances in military, civilian and cyber surveillance.

Nanotechnology is a rapidly evolving field finding newer and newer areas of application that remained unexplored previously. In the area of civil infrastructure systems such as buildings, roads, and bridges, there is a drive towards understanding the behavior of component materials and their interactions at the molecular or nano-level to manipulate and effect macro-level changes to engineer designer or smart materials. Nano-engineering and nano-modification of concrete and bituminous materials have far-reaching implications allowing the development of cost-effective, high-performance, and long-lasting products and processes for civil infrastructure within the ideals of sustainable development. This book focuses on the latest advances made in the development and characterization of nanotechnology based civil engineering materials, structures, and systems. Specific topics discussed in this book include nanoscience modeling to understand the atomic structure of C-S-H, the effect of nanomaterials on cement hydration and reinforcement, multifunctional concrete and Carbon Nanotube (CNT) reinforced cementitious systems, nano-optimized construction materials by nano-seeding, moisture damage characterization of asphalt materials using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation, nanoclay-modified asphalt binder systems, etc.

Advanced Video-Based Surveillance Systems presents second generation surveillance systems that automatically process large sets of signals for performance monitoring tasks. Included is coverage of different architecture designs, customization of surveillance architecture for end-users, advances in the processing of imaging sequences, security systems, sensors, and remote monitoring projects. Examples are provided of surveillance applications in highway traffic control, subway stations, wireless communications, and other areas. This work will be of interest to researchers in image processing, computer vision, digital signal processing, and telecommunications.

This book highlights new developments in the field of building pathology and rehabilitation, taking an in-depth look into current approaches to the surveying of buildings and the study of defect diagnosis, prognosis and remediation. Including a number of real-world case studies and a detailed set of references for further reading, the book will appeal to a wide readership of scientists, practitioners, students and lecturers.

Intelligent building is the future of our building industry; all commercial, residential, industrial and institutional buildings will be designed towards the goal of intelligent buildings'. The most important aspect of an intelligent building is the building systems, such as electrical services, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, vertical transportation systems, and life safety systems, which must operate intelligently and efficiently to enhance the activities of the occupants. Intelligent Building Systems explains what already exists in a modern intelligent building and describes what is currently being developed by researchers to improve human comfort, working efficiency and energy performance for buildings in the 21st century. Intelligent Building Systems is divided into three parts. The first part gives a quick review of the structure, terminology, layout and operating principles of most standard modern building systems. The second part introduces the background material necessary to understand intelligent building systems, including information on electronics technology, fundamental mathematics, and techniques in artificial intelligence and signal processing. These first two parts are the foundation for the final part, which consists of research works carried out by the authors and other researchers in the application of artificial intelligence to building systems. The technologies presented will encourage readers to envision new and innovative ideas on possible future applications. Intelligent Building Systems is relevant to practitioners and researchers in the area of architectural science and engineering, electrical and mechanical services and intelligent buildings. It may also be used as a text for advanced courses on the topic.

This book contains papers presented at the IUTAM/IACM Symposium Discretization Methods in Structural Mechanics II' held in Vienna, Austria, in June 1997. During the last decade the broad field of Discretization Methods in Structural Mechanics' has experienced a remarkable evolution. New aspects have come into focus. Many of them were stimulated by challenging requirements coming from high-tech applications. In these proceedings such recent developments are presented and discussed together with new trends and demands. In view of their relevance, emphasis was put on nonlinear finite element methods and boundary element methods as well as on the coupling of these two numerical methods. Novel developments in other discretization methods having the potential of opening new avenues for promising applications were also considered. The different sources of nonlinearities, such as large deformations, large strains, nonlinear material behaviour (including viscoplasticity, progressive damage, nonlinearities in composites and other microstructured materials), contact with or without friction, etc., require (a) a careful mathematical and mechanical description and modelling, (b) the development of efficient algorithms and (c) a sound computational treatment. Contributions meeting these requirements are presented. Further emphasis was laid on significant improvements concerning efficiency, accuracy and reliability of discretization methods in nonlinear structural mechanics (e.g. error estimation, self-adapting mesh refinement, multigrid methods). A number of papers deal with new aspects of sensitivity analysis and optimization. Neural network strategies as well as modern data processing architectures(such as parallel computers and transputers) and their impact on the developments of new algorithmic concepts are discussed.

Rock Dynamics - Experiments, Theories and Applications is a collection of scientific and technical papers presented at the Third International Conference on Rock Dynamics and Applications (RocDyn-3, Trondheim, Norway, 26-27 June 2018). The papers in the book reflect the recent developments in experiment and theory as well as engineering applications of rock dynamics. Rock dynamics studies the response of rock and rock masses under dynamic loading and during the state transition from static loading to kinetic movement. It also includes the study of engineering countermeasures to dynamic instability of rock and rock masses. The topics in the book include: - Dynamic theories - Numerical simulation - Propagation of stress waves - Dynamic tests of rock - Stability of underground openings under dynamic loading - Rockburst - Seismic monitoring - Dynamic rock support - Blasting - Earthquake-related rock structure damage, etc. Applications, such as rockburst, dynamic rock support, seismic monitoring, blasting and earthquake-related rock structure damage, are paid special attention in Rock Dynamics - Experiments, Theories and Applications. The papers, from specialists both from mining and tunnelling branches, discuss commonly interested dynamic issues. Their experience and knowledge in the application of rock dynamics are extremely valuable for all academics, engineers and professionals who work with rock dynamics.

The Complex Variable Boundary Element Method (CVBEM) has an important role to play in a number of technical engineering situations and can be a tremendous help to scholars and practitioners preoccupied with solving problems in areas such as heat transport, structural mechanics and river hydraulics. As well as describing the extremely useful applications of this method, the authors explain the mathematical background to the CVBEM, which is vital to understanding the subject as a whole. Advances in the Complex Variable Boundary Element Method is the most comprehensive of books on this subject, bringing together ten years of work and boasting the latest news in CVBEM technology. It will be of particular interest to those concerned with solving technical engineering problems - scientists, graduate students, computer programmers and those working in industry may all find the book helpful.

This volume presents new methodologies for the design of dimension stone based on the concepts of structural design while preserving the excellence of stonemasonry practice in facade engineering. Straightforward formulae are provided for computing action on cladding, with special emphasis on the effect of seismic forces, including an extensive general methodology applied to non-structural elements. Based on the Load and Resistance Factor Design Format (LRDF), minimum slab thickness formulae are presented that take into consideration stress concentrations analysis based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) for the most commonly used modern anchorage systems. Calculation examples allow designers to solve several anchorage engineering problems in a detailed and objective manner, underlining the key parameters. The design of the anchorage metal parts, either in stainless steel or aluminum, is also presented.

Design and construction of pavements and railways for high speed trains is moving from merely empirical procedures towards a more mechanistic approach based on a better constructed theoretical basis. This will facilitate the use of new materials in transportation infrastructure under various climatic and traffic (load and speed) conditions. In addition, this will lead to a future challenge to implement a common framework between road, railway and geotechnical engineers. These contributions represent an excellent source of recent developments related to the design and construction of pavements, rail tracks and earth structures with emphasis placed on geotechnical background.

In this book, experts on textile technologies convey both general and specific information on various aspects of textile engineering, ready-made technologies, and textile chemistry. They describe the entire process chain from fiber materials to various yarn constructions, 2D and 3D textile constructions, preforms, and interface layer design. In addition, the authors introduce testing methods, shaping and simulation techniques for the characterization of and structural mechanics calculations on anisotropic, pliable high-performance textiles, including specific examples from the fields of fiber plastic composites, textile concrete and textile membranes. Readers will also be familiarized with the potential offered by increasingly employed textile structures, for instance in the fields of composite technology, construction technology, security technology and membrane technology.

This book provides insights into sensor development for structural health monitoring. Current technological advances mean that the field is changing rapidly, making standardization an ongoing challenge. As such, the book gathers several essential contributions in the area of sensor development, including macro-fiber composite sensors for crack detection and optical fiber Bragg gratings for flaw detection. It also discusses the use of the welds in the structure as sensors, and probability estimation of detection for various sensor configurations. In addition, it presents methods based on vibration signal variations to detect small defects in composite components or to monitor large structures. Last but not least, the book includes special structural health monitoring applications in industrial components such as a nuclear boiler support spines and industrial presses as well as in corrosion monitoring of pipes.

The dissertation investigates the scientific and business factors that have resulted in air-conditioning being a major contributor to climate-change. With his architectural background, the author demonstrates how a design methodology, not commonly adopted in scientific studies, may actually be a suitable way of dealing with a complex problem: the 'business as usual' scenario involving building science, sociological values and consumer behavior. Using his innovations as case studies, the author shows how good ideas cannot be evaluated on scientific merit alone and demonstrates why commercialization may have a pivotal role in deployment of research-based technology. He advances the theory of personalized thermal comfort which can potentially resolve the air-conditioning conundrum.

This book is the fourth volume of the sub series of the Lecture Notes in Mobility dedicated to Road Vehicle Automation. lts chapters have been written by researchers, engineers and analysts from all around the globe. Topics covered include public sector activities, human factors and challenges, ethical, legal, energy and technology perspectives, vehicle systems development, as well as transportation infrastructure and planning. The book is based on the Automated Vehicles Symposium which took place in San Francisco, California (USA) in July 2016.

This book highlights the advances and trends in the safety analysis of sodium-cooled fast reactors, especially from the perspective of particle bed-related phenomena during core disruptive accidents. A sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) is an optimized candidate of the next-generation nuclear reactor systems. Its safety is a critical issue during its R&D process. The book elaborates on research progresses in particle bed-related phenomena in terms of the molten-pool mobility, the molten-pool sloshing motion, the debris bed formation behavior, and the debris bed self-leveling behavior. The book serves as a good reference for researchers, professionals, and postgraduate students interested in sodium-cooled fast reactors. Knowledge provided is also useful for those who are engaging in severe accident analysis for lead-cooled fast reactors and light water reactors.

Soil represents the oldest and most used building material. Current paradox is that up to now this subject of Earth structures was not fully covered. This book describes the principles of soil workability as construction material including two basic forms of its treatment using geosynthetics and stabilization. It describes logics of design and control of Earth structures that significantly differ from other building materials, which brings more uncertainty and risk. Therefore Earth structures are still offering wider space for detailing the design and improvement of financial calculations quality.

Following the general part, where the principles of limit states according to Eurocode 7 - Geotechnical design are also described in more detail, the book concentrates on earth structures of transport, water and environmental projects. The parts devoted to transport projects covers in more details limit states of stability and deformation. The part devoted to water engineering prioritizes the limit state of internal erosion. The part regarding earth structures of environmental structures describes new phenomenon where part of the structure is created from non standard materials, usually susceptible to internal collapse, double porosity, unsaturation, etc. It also concentrates on protection of the surrounding from contamination.

The book focuses on the principles, logic of processes, understanding of the most important problems, so that all participants of the construction (client, designer, contractor and supervisor) are able to build these earth structures more safely and economically.