This book, for the first time, introduces comprehensively all main topics of lifeline earthquake engineering, including the structure analysis, network evaluation, and network design. The distinctive features involved in this book are the construction of theories and methods for stochastic analysis of structures based the physical idea, probability analytical algorithms for network evaluation by employing Boolean Algebra, functional evaluation of water distribution networks using hydraulic analysis, and network design methods by employing genetic, simulated annealing, and hybrid algorithms.

First Responder's Guide to Agricultural Chemical Accidents provides emergency safety and health information for 452 toxic and hazardous products. These products, frequently used by pest exterminators and farmers, include those insecticides, pesticides, rodenticides, herbicides, and fertilizers commonly transported on highways and by rail carriers. The book lists products alphabetically and includes the manufacturer and telephone number, chemical identification, physical properties, hazard ratings, neutralizing agents (when known), fire fighting agents, special warnings, evacuation distances, protective clothing, health hazard information, and emergency first aid for exposure. This important information allows any First Responder to establish a safe plan of action without having to reference the library of chemical books normally carried by a Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team (HERT). First Responder's Guide to Agricultural Chemical Accidents is an essential reference that provides critical hazardous materials data for personnel at fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and emergency medical agencies. The book will also be useful for business or individuals that store, sell, or use agricultural chemicals.

This book presents the proceedings of the International Conference on Health, Safety, Fire, Environment, and Allied Sciences (HSFEA 2018). The book highlights the latest developments in the field of science and technology aimed at improving health and safety in the workplace. The volume comprises content from leading scientists, engineers, and policy makers, discussing the effect of vehicular pollution, process, engineering, construction and other industrial activities on air quality and the impact these have on health and the environment. The contents of this volume will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers alike.

This book offers meaningful insights into an impending challenge for the energy industry, namely the increasing role of asset management amongst the utilities' core operations. In the aftermath of energy digitalization, power and gas companies will be able to seize asset productivity-through risk-based operation and maintenance-and better balance capital and operational expenditures. By addressing the asset management of both power and gas infrastructures, and by adopting a comprehensive approach-including regulation and business models, as well as a solid technology background-this book offers a unique perspective on the energy utilities' transformation journey and the road to optimal decision-making for both asset portfolio expansion and replacement. The asset management end-to-end mission requires appropriate internal governance-depending on the business framework-and the development of decision aid models (for asset replacement and maintenance), supported on probabilistic risk and reliability indexes. This book advocates systematically digitalizing the power and gas assets, addressing both data governance and infrastructure, alongside real-time equipment condition monitoring. It also provides a meaningful methodology for designing data-centric asset management and predictive operation and maintenance, using artificial intelligence and engineering-based approaches. As such, it provides valuable strategy, methods and models-illustrated by case studies and proofs of concept-for a wide range of stakeholders, including utilities and industry professionals, regulators, policy-makers, researchers and students.

"Guidelines for Vapor Release Mitigation" is a survey of current industrial practice for controlling accidental releases of hazardous vapors and preventing their escape from the source area.

This book is devoted to the complex nature of fire, the intricasies of the combustion process, the influence of chemical and physical properties of fuels, and the proper means of fire extinguishment. It lists sequentially the various factors in the combustion process.

This book describes principles, industry practices and evolutionary methodologies for advanced safety studies, which are helpful in effectively managing volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments within the framework of quantitative risk assessment and management and associated with the safety and resilience of structures and infrastructures with tolerance against various types of extreme conditions and accidents such as fires, explosions, collisions and grounding. It presents advanced computational models for characterizing structural actions and their effects in extreme and accidental conditions, which are highly nonlinear and non-Gaussian in association with multiple physical processes, multiple scales, and multiple criteria. Probabilistic scenario selection practices and applications are presented. Engineering practices for structural crashworthiness analysis in extreme conditions and accidents are described. Multidisciplinary approaches involving advanced computational models and large-scale physical model testing are emphasized. The book will be useful to students at a post-graduate level as well as researchers and practicing engineers.

This book features selected papers from the 11th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology (AOSFST 2018), held in Taipei, Taiwan. Covering the entire spectrum of fire safety science, it focuses on research on fires, explosions, combustion science, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, risk analysis and structural engineering, as well as other topics. Presenting advanced scientific insights, the book introduces and advances new ideas in all areas of fire safety science. As such it is a valuable resource for academic researchers, fire safety engineers, and regulators of fire, construction and safety authorities. Further it provides new ideas for more efficient fire protection.

This volume presents selected papers from the International Conference on Reliability, Safety, and Hazard. It presents the latest developments in reliability engineering and probabilistic safety assessment, and brings together contributions from a diverse international community and covers all aspects of safety, reliability, and hazard assessment across a host of interdisciplinary applications. This book will be of interest to researchers in both academia and the industry.

This book presents an overview of recent academic and industrial research efforts concerning halogen-free flame-retardant (FR) polymers and their nanocomposites. It summarizes the synthesis methods for various types of halogen-free FR polymers and their nanocomposites, and critically reviews their flame-retardant behavior, toxic-gas evolution during combustion, and inhibition methods. In turn, the book discusses the importance of metal oxide nanoparticles, nanoclay, and graphene in flame inhibition and addresses the FR properties of various FR compounds containing polymers, their FR mechanisms, and fire toxicant releasing and inhibition methods in detail. It systematically covers the synergetic effects between different FR compounds, and explains the significance of thermal stability and melt dripping for polymers' FR properties. The fundamental concepts described here are essential to understanding the FR behaviors of various polymers and their nanocomposites, and to developing efficient, environmentally friendly FR polymers and nanocomposites for a wide range of applications. This book is ideally suited for researchers in the fields of polymer science and engineering, and for graduate students in chemistry and materials science.

This book gathers selected, extended and revised papers presented at the 5th Iberian-Latin American Congress on Fire Safety, CILASCI 5, held on 15-17 July 2019, in Porto, Portugal. The respective chapters address experimental efforts and the computational and numerical modelling of materials (e.g. wood, concrete, and steel) and structures to assess their fire behavior and/or improve their fire resistance. In addition, they present simulation studies on fire events and findings from fire performance tests on walls. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners whose work involves fire safety-related topics.

The book supplements "Guidelines for Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis" by providing the failure rate data needed to perform a chemical process quantitative risk analysis.

This edited volume is an up-to-date guide for students, policy makers and engineers on earthquake engineering, including methods and technologies for seismic hazard detection and mitigation. The book was written in honour of the late Professor Jai Krishna, who was a pioneer in teaching and research in the field of earthquake engineering in India during his decades-long work at the University of Roorkee (now the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee). The book comprehensively covers the historical development of earthquake engineering in India, and uses this background knowledge to address the need for current advances in earthquake engineering, especially in developing countries. After discussing the history and growth of earthquake engineering in India from the past 50 years, the book addresses the present status of earthquake engineering in regards to the seismic resistant designs of bridges, buildings, railways, and other infrastructures. Specific topics include response spectrum superposition methods, design philosophy, system identification approaches, retaining walls, and shallow foundations. Readers will learn about developments in earthquake engineering over the past 50 years, and how new methods and technologies can be applied towards seismic risk and hazard identification and mitigation.

This book addresses the hazard of gas explosions in sealed underground coal mines, and how the risk of explosion can be assessed, modeled, and mitigated. With this text, coal mine operators and managers will be able to identify the risks that lead to underground mine gas explosions, and implement practical strategies to optimize mining safety for workers. In six chapters, the book offers a framework for understanding the sealed coal mine atmosphere, the safety characteristics that are currently in place, and the guidelines to be followed by engineers to improve upon these characteristics. The first part of the book describes the importance and characteristics of underground gas mine explosions in a historical context with data showing the high number of fatalities from explosion incidents, and how risk has been mitigated in the past. Chapters also detail mathematical models and explosibility diagrams for determining and understanding the risk factors involved in mine explosions. Readers will also learn about safety operations, and assessments for the sealed mine atmosphere. With descriptions of chapter case studies, mining engineers and researchers will learn how to apply safety measures in underground coal mines to improve mining atmospheres and save lives.

This book presents the proceedings of the International Conference on Durability of Critical Infrastructure. Monitoring and Testing held in Satov, Czech Republic from 6 to 9 December 2016. It discusses the developments in the theoretical and practical aspects in the fields of Safety, Sustainability and Durability of the Critical Infrastructure. The contributions are dealing with monitoring and testing of structural and composite materials with a new methods for their using for protection and prevention of the selected objects.

This important new manual goes beyond the published NFPA standards on installation of standpipe systems to include the rules in the International Building Code, municipal fire codes, the National Fire Code of Canada, and information on inspection, testing, and maintenance of standpipe systems. Also covered are the interactions between standpipe and sprinkler systems, since these important fire protection systems are so frequently installed together. Illustrated with design examples and practical applications to reinforce the learning experience, this is the go-to reference for engineers, architects, design technicians, building inspectors, fire inspectors, and anyone that inspects, tests or maintains fire protection systems. Fire marshals and plan review authorities that have the responsibility for reviewing and accepting plans and hydraulic calculations for standpipe systems are also an important audience, as are firefighters who actually use standpipe systems. As a member of the committees responsible for some of these documents, Isman also covers the rules of these standards and codes as they are written, but also provides valuable insight as to the intent behind the rules. A noted author and lecturer, Professor Isman was an engineer with the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), is an elected Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), and currently Clinical Professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at University of Maryland.

This book applies a behavioral point of view to individuals' fire safety in historic buildings. It outlines theoretical and operative issues, based on recent studies and international guidelines. Firstly, critical issues for Building Heritage fire safety are widely discussed, by including the modelling of human factor and man-environment-fire interference in these architectural spaces. A significant part of the book includes a discussion on emergency modeling and simulation. A source code for representing the fire evacuation process (including man-evacuation facilities interactions) is offered to the reader. Methods for effectiveness assessment of risk-reducing solutions are provided and tested in a case-study. Being a structured approach to occupants-related problems during a fire in heritage buildings, it offers an innovative methodology and practical examples that researchers and designers can use as a guide when proposing and testing solutions. Evaluation indexes for effectiveness assessment (also useful for future guidelines or handbooks) are included. Readers are encouraged to understand these indexes within the proposed approach, so as to extend their applications and possibilities of how to introduce human behaviors-based solutions in other fields. Lastly, attention is focused on the proposal and evaluation of low-impact and not-invasive strategies, such as ones based on wayfinding elements. From this point of view, the pros and cons of wayfinding systems are discussed: these are important today, especially for fire-safety designers, because of the ongoing innovations in this field.

The primary goals of this brief are to invoke alertness and solidarity among the public in earthquake prone areas of India, and to empower the community to prepare themselves to face and manage the aftermath of an earthquake. The work presented here sheds new light on the action plans to be taken by the common public and public agencies, before, during and after earthquakes to safeguard lives of people and minimize loss of assets. This carefully presented book articulates various factors related to earthquake preparedness, and develops guidelines and useful tips for communicating them to relevant stakeholders. The book has been divided into three parts: (i) the first providing background which explains earthquakes in general and seismicity of India (ii) the second explores earthquake preparedness intended for individuals, families and various stakeholders, and (iii) the final section which describes various strategies for communities to prepare themselves for a future earthquake.

The failures of electronic controls, which can cause loss of life and property, are discussed from the perspective of both the design and manufacturing functions and clarified for the responsible forensic team. Many pitfalls of the fast-paced product introduction environment for industrial and consumer products are discussed to help minimize the number of electronic control fires and other menacing events of today. The author clearly links the design, manufacturing and forensic technical communities in the development of electronic control devices, which include a wide array of products, from auto key fobs to furnace electronic control boards. The information included ensures a final product that will not end up in litigation (or at least not be found guilty during litigation), putting into plain words how to determine if a suspect electronic appliance control is the cause of a fire or the result of a fire. Containing invaluable data learned through many years of new product designs, development and production cycles, this brief features illustrated bench experiments conducted by the author. Professionals and researchers working in fire protection, electrical engineering, or building safety will find this brief an essential resource.

This book investigates the feasibility of developing a tool that enables fire departments to estimate the value of their services to a community in terms of environmental and financial impact. This book provides a summary of this effort, which resulted in development of a prototype tool for fire department use. The impact of fire on a community is usually measured in terms of the number of fires, human casualties, and property damage. There are, however, more subtle impacts of fire that are not so easily estimated but contribute to the measure of overall performance of the fire service in protecting a community. While environmental and economic impact assessment methodologies exist as separate systems, they generally require a high level of knowledge that is outside the scope of most fire departments. A relatively simple methodology for estimating the environmental and economic impact of fires helps communities understand the degree to which fire department activities can benefit a community's environmental and economic well-being. The scope and approach for this prototype tool is explained, including risk assessment, cost benefit analysis, life cycle assessment, integration and implementation, and sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. It includes multiple case studies and offers statistical support for future expansion of the tool. Fire service professionals will find this a useful new approach to presenting value in a community, as well as a method for examining their own financial and environmental plans.

Major events-notably the Broadgate fire in London, New York's World Trade Center collapse, and the Windsor Tower fire in Madrid-as well as the enlightening studies at the Cardington fire research project have given international prominence to performance-based structural fire engineering. As a result, structural fire engineering has increasingly attracted the interest not only of fire and structural engineers but also of researchers and students. And studies in recent years have generated a vast number of findings. Performance-Based Fire Engineering of Structures summarizes the latest knowledge on performance-based approaches to structural fire engineering, enabling readers to critically assess research in the field. Whereas most recent books have been mainly concerned with dissemination of principles encapsulated in established codes of practice such as the Eurocodes, this work addresses in depth: Global structural behaviour and modelling Progressive collapse of structures in fire and the importance of connection robustness The integrity of compartmentation in fire Structural fire engineering under realistic fire conditions and its implications for material properties The limitations of research results and design methods The unexploited potential for advanced fire engineering design This authoritative book draws on the work of internationally active researchers who were core members of the European Network project's COST C26 working group on fire resistance. It helps readers develop a thorough understanding of how to use advanced fire engineering design to improve structural safety and reduce construction costs.