This book evaluates the seismic performance of concrete gravity dams, considering the effects of strong motion duration, mainshock-aftershock seismic sequence, and near-fault ground motion. It employs both the extended finite element method (XFEM) and concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) models to characterize the mechanical behavior of concrete gravity dams under strong ground motions, including the dam-reservoir-foundation interaction. In addition, it discusses the effects of the initial crack, earthquake direction, and cross-stream seismic excitation on the nonlinear dynamic response to strong ground motions, and on the damage-cracking risk of concrete gravity dams. This book provides a theoretical basis for the seismic performance evaluation of high dams, and can also be used as a reference resource for researchers and graduate students engaged in the seismic design of high dams.

This book gathers the peer-reviewed proceedings of the 14th International Symposium, PRADS 2019, held in Yokohama, Japan, in September 2019. It brings together naval architects, engineers, academic researchers and professionals who are involved in ships and other floating structures to share the latest research advances in the field. The contents cover a broad range of topics, including design synthesis for ships and floating systems, production, hydrodynamics, and structures and materials. Reflecting the latest advances, the book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners alike.

This book highlights the residual strength of the CFDST column, that can be used to determine the most suitable repair method in order to retrofit the column. The book elaborates on the behavior of CFDST column after being exposed to fire. This book also discusses the effectiveness of repair method using single and Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) of fire-damaged CFDST columns. It concludes by taking a look at different parameters such as thickness of outer steel tube and fire exposure time as factors affecting thermal properties/stability.

This book highlights cutting-edge applications of machine learning techniques for disaster management by monitoring, analyzing, and forecasting hydro-meteorological variables. Predictive modelling is a consolidated discipline used to forewarn the possibility of natural hazards. In this book, experts from numerical weather forecast, meteorology, hydrology, engineering, agriculture, economics, and disaster policy-making contribute towards an interdisciplinary framework to construct potent models for hazard risk mitigation. The book will help advance the state of knowledge of artificial intelligence in decision systems to aid disaster management and policy-making. This book can be a useful reference for graduate student, academics, practicing scientists and professionals of disaster management, artificial intelligence, and environmental sciences.

This book provides insight on how disaster risk management can increase the resilience of society to various natural hazards. The multi-dimensionality of resilience and the various different perspectives in regards to disaster risk reduction are taken explicitly into account by providing studies and approaches on different scales and ranging from natural science based methods to social science frameworks. For all chapters, special emphasis is placed on implementation aspects and specifically in regards to the targets and priorities for action laid out in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The chapters provide also a starting point for interested readers on specific issues of resilience and therefore include extensive reference material and important future directions for research.

This book offers a timely report on methods for risk assessment procedures for dams, with a special emphasis on dams with small storage dimensions. It starts by introducing all important definitions relating to dams, dam safety, such as the most common failure modes, and risks. In turn, it describes in detail the most important evaluation procedures for various failure modes such as piping, flood, earthquake and stability are described in this chapter. Consequence assessment procedures, together with the different steps of the risk evaluation process, are analyzed, providing a guide on how to identify the appropriate failure mode for the examined dam and setting up the appropriate safety plan. The book introduces the most common methods for predicting peak breach discharge, analyzing some relevant case studies. Upon comparing the findings obtained with the different methods, the book concludes with some general suggestions and ideas for future developments. This book fills an important gap between theoretical works and real-life problems being investigating in practical research studies on dam safety and risk management. It provides readers with the necessary knowledge on risk analysis and shows how to apply this in practice to carry out dam safety studies. It offers practical guidelines to set up risk assessment procedures for different failure modes and predicting failure parameters such as failure time, peak breach discharge and breach width.

This book examines key issues in improving the efficiency of small and medium power boiler units by adding control systems for the fuel combustion process. The original models, algorithms, software and hardware of the system developed for controlling the fuel combustion process are presented. In turn, the book presents a methodology for assessing the influence of climatic factors on the combustion process, and proposes new methods for measuring the thermophysical characteristics, which require taking into account the concentration of oxygen in the air. The system developed here was implemented on a boiler of the NIISTU-5 type, which is widely used for heat power engineering in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable asset for researchers and engineers, as well as lecturers and graduate students at higher education institutions dealing with heat engineering equipment.

Presenting a comprehensive overview of the fire resistance of building structures, this key text brings together a large volume of material from many sources on this increasingly important topic. Opening with the fundamentals of fires and fire safety, the book gives an introduction to real fire exposure and the response of strutures to such fires, outlining the important contribution of structural fire resistance to overall fire safety. Methods of calculating fire severity and achieving fire resistance are described, including fire performance of the main structural materials including structural steel, reinforced concrete and timber construction. Particularly valuable elements of the book are its design sections (incorporating international methods), where the arlier material is synthesised and recommendations are rmade for rational design of building structures exposed to fires.
Structural Design for Fire Safety provides expert guidance on:

• interpreting code requirements for fire safety
• understanding the concepts of fire severity and fire resistance
• estimating time-temperature curves for fully developed compartment fires
• understanding the behaviour of structural elements and buildings exposed to fires
• designing steel, concrete and timber structures to resist fire exposure
• assessing the fire performance of existing structures

This book provides information on the generation and the effects of hazardous substances that are produced during welding and allied processes. These processes are thermal cutting, thermal spraying, soldering and brazing. The book offers guidance on the determination of hazardous substances and it simplifies assessment of the hazard due to hazardous substances. In addition, the book explains tests in order to understand the concentration and intensity of key hazardous substances. Last but not least, the book suggests several possibilities of avoiding the risk to worker's health as a result of exposing them to these substances.

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 proceedings volume presents new scientific works of the research workers and experts from the field of Wood Science & Fire. It looks into the properties of various tree species across the continents affecting the fire-technical properties of wood and wood-based materials, its modifications, fire-retardant methods and other technological processes that have an impact on wood ignition and burning. The results of these findings have a direct impact on Building Construction and Design describing the fire safety of wooden buildings, mainly large and multi-story ones. The results of these experiments and findings may be applied, or are directly implemented into Fire Science, Hazard Control, Building Safety which makes the application of wood and wood materials in buildings possible, while maintaining strict fire regulations. One part of the contributions focuses on the symbiosis of the material and the fire-fighting technologies. Wood burning has its own specific features, therefore, the fire protection technologies need to be updated regularly. It also includes the issue of the intervention of fire-fighting and rescue teams in the fires of wooden buildings. Presentations deal with the issue of forest fires influenced by the climate changes, relief, fuel models based on the type and the age of the forest stand.

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.

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 text provides training on the fundamental tools and methodologies used in active forensic laboratories for the complicated analysis of fire debris and explosives evidence. It is intended to serve as a gateway for students and transitioning forensic science or chemistry professionals. The book is divided between the two disciplines of fire debris and explosives, with a final pair of chapters devoted to the interplay between the two disciplines and with other disciplines, such as DNA and fingerprint analysis. It brings together a multi-national group of technical experts, ranging from academic researchers to active practitioners, including members of some of the premier forensic agencies of the world. Readers will gain knowledge of practical methods of analysis and will develop a strong foundation for laboratory work in forensic chemistry. End-of-chapter questions based on relevant topics and real-world data provide a realistic arena for learners to test newly-acquired techniques.

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.

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 presents the comprehensive results of experimental and numerical investigations of glass facade breakage behavior under fire conditions. First of all, full-scale frame and point-supported glass facades, incorporating single, double and coated glazing, were tested under pool fire conductions. The results determined the effects of different glass frames, types of glass, and thermal shocks on breakage behavior. Small-scale tests, using the Material Testing System (MTS) 810, Netzsch Dilatometer and FE-SEM, were also performed at different temperatures to determine the basic mechanical properties of glazing. In addition, a three-dimensional dynamic model was developed to predict stress distribution, crack initiation and propagation, and has since been employed to identify the breakage mechanisms of different types of glass facade. The numerical results showed very good agreement with the experimental results and verified the model's ability to accurately predict breakage. Lastly, a theoretical model based on incident heat flux was developed to predict the breakage time and heat transfer in glazing, which served to reveal the nature of interactions between fire and glass.

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 the results of an experiment assessing the impact of spruce wood joints on the creation and development of fire when these joints are applied within a facade. The book includes an extensive analysis of wooden cladding, which is a flammable material in which the elements are connected lengthwise using various types of joint. The parameters of the experiment, as well as the setting, material criteria and evaluation criteria are described in detail. The results confirm that the joint type used has an impact on the selected evaluation criteria and thus also on the potential spread of fire.

This book consists of two parts, the first of which focuses on combustible solids, and the second on the industrial position concerning these materials. It includes practical data and information on all biomass sources, from woodchips to sewage sludge, as well as mixtures. Biomass materials are rapidly becoming a fundamental energy source, and their consumption will surpass that of fossil fuels in the near future. The risk of explosion of biomass dust materials can lead to massive economic and human losses worldwide, and applies to every facility that produces, processes or handles these materials. A better understanding of the risk could help reduce the number of accidents; until now, however, no book has been published on the subject. This book is the first to gather the latest information, both from the authors and from other researchers, while also providing explanations and clarifications of how to correctly determine the most relevant parameters and use them to ensure safer environments. It was written in clear, straightforward language to make it accessible for a broad range of readers, from students to senior researchers.

This book explores the major differences between the kinds of risk encountered in different sectors of industry - production (including agriculture) and services - and identifies the main features of accidents within different industries. Because of these differences, unique risk-mitigation measures will need to be implemented in one industry that cannot be implemented in another, leading to large managerial differences between these broad economic sectors. Based on the analysis of more than 500 disasters, accidents and incidents - around 230 cases from the production sector and around 280 cases from the service sector - the authors compare the risk response actions appropriate within different sectors, and establish when and how it is possible to generalize the experience of dealing with risks in any given industry to a wider field of economic activity. This book is mainly intended for executives, strategists, senior risk managers of enterprise-wide organizations and risk management experts engaged in academic or consulting work. By setting out clearly the sector differences in risk management, the authors aim to improve the practice of general risk assessment with regard to identifying and prioritizing risks, and of risk control with regard to planning appropriate mitigation measures.

This book is used as a reference book for researcher and engineer of the world to learn the building monitoring standard of China for the first time, and is also be used as a reference manual for engineer to engage in practical monitoring projects. The standard for project construction of "Technical Code for Monitoring of Building Structures in Qinghai Province" is the first standard for building structure monitoring engineering in China, which integrates design, construction and acceptance of monitoring technique. It can be applied to any place in the world not limited to Qinghai. The standard specifies the warning thresholds for various building structure monitoring parameters. In the monitoring technology, advanced monitoring technologies such as structure group, cloud platform, and BIM are adopted. It has strong operability for monitoring building structures according to the requirement of the standard, provides technical support for ensuring the safety of building structure, and fills in the blank of building structure safety monitoring technology in high and cold high-altitude areas. It contains specific measures to implement housing security for the first time, which is one of the "two without worries and three guarantees" proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping. It is also used as a reference book for senior undergraduate and graduate students in colleges and universities.

The natural disasters are the killer agents which can/can't be predicted even though we have modern technology. Every year, in one place or another, disasters striking which is devastating the area and surroundings, leading to ecological disruption besides huge loss of life and property. India is vulnerable to cyclones, landslides/avalanches, earthquakes, floods, droughts, forest fires, epidemics, etc. The 5700-km long coast of India, with its dense population is vulnerable to cyclones/low depressions, tsunamis, etc. The 2400-km long rugged Himalayan terrain is vulnerable to landslides, avalanches and earthquakes. India is not only vulnerable to natural disasters, it is also experiencing industrial accidents. The Bhopal Gas tragedy is one of the major man-made disasters in the world. The state of Andhra Pradesh has 970-km long coastline with two major rivers, etc. The conference is conducted in Visakhapatnam, is famous for industries and tourism. Recently, several industrial accidents took place, besides major natural disasters like Hud-Hud, etc. Disaster management shall be implemented from the grass root level in vulnerable areas to improve the capacity building, so as to minimize the losses. The capacity building coupled with technology results in reduction of loss of life and property.

The Second Edition of this introduction to fire protection systems is completely revised and updated to offer the student, architect or engineer the basics of fire protection devices and equipment, and how they may be applied to any given project. Fire Protection: Detection, Notification, and Suppression reveals the "nuts and bolts" of fire protection system selection, design and equipment in an applied approach. Whether a mechanical engineer, safety engineer, architect, estimator, fire service personnel, or student studying in these areas, the authors show the pros and the cons of protection systems being proposed, and how they should be compared to one another. It also gives non-fire engineering practitioners a sense of proportion when they are put in a position to select a consultant, and to give a sense of what the consultant may be doing and how a system is being matched to the hazard. Beginning fire protection engineers could also use its language for writing a report about these systems for a client.

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.