Recently, a new digital twin consortium has been established that aims to deploy digital twin technology in new markets as well as in the development of smart cities. Designing smart cities, smart communities, and smart ecosystems powered by optimal digital twin deployments is a vision that currently only futurists can entertain and requires some time to reach large-scale adoption. However, it is incumbent upon us as a society to educate and train future generations on how to leverage digital twin technologies in order to optimize our daily lives as well as increase our efficiency, productivity, and safety. Impact of Digital Twins in Smart Cities Development provides insights regarding the global landscape for current digital twin research and deployments and highlights some of the challenges and opportunities faced during large-scale adoptions. Critical domains such as ethics, data governance, cybersecurity, inclusion, diversity, and sustainability are also addressed and considered. Covering topics such as digital identity and digital economics, this reference work is ideal for urban planners, engineers, policymakers, industry leaders, scientists, economists, academicians, practitioners, researchers, instructors, and students.

This important collection presents an authoritative selection of papers on public private partnerships. The literature is relatively new, and draws on the disciplines of both economics and engineering. As well as examining the recent experience of these schemes - whose evolution has accelerated in recent years - this insightful collection also considers the intellectual origins of the concept, and investigates the organisational and risk management aspects of PPPs. It will be an essential source of reference for all those with an interest in this topical subject. 36 articles, dating from 1991 to 2003

Handbook of Thermoset-Based Biocomposites is a three-volume set that provides a comprehensive review on the recent developments, characterization, and applications of natural fiber-reinforced biocomposites. An in-depth look at hybrid composites, nanofillers, and natural fiber reinforcement is divided into three books on polyester, vinyl ester, and epoxy composites. The volumes explore the widespread applications of natural fiber-reinforced polyester, vinyl ester, and epoxy composites ranging from the aerospace sector, automotive parts, construction and building materials, sports equipment, and household appliances. Investigating the physio-chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of these composites, the volumes also consider the influence of hybridization, fibre architecture, and fibre-ply orientation. This three-volume set serves as a useful reference for researchers, graduate students, and engineers in the field of composites.

Many of the books on construction risk management concentrate on theoretical approaches to the accurate assessment of the overall risks of taking on a new project. Less attention is paid to the typical risks to which the operational level of a project is exposed and how operational managers should approach those risks during project implementation. This book identifies precisely where the major EPC/Design-Build risks occur within an operational framework and shows how best to deal with those risks. The book attempts to offer practical advice, approaches and tools for dealing with risks to which the various operational departments are exposed.

Despite the development of advanced methods, models, and algorithms, optimization within structural engineering remains a primary method for overcoming potential structural failures. With the overarching goal to improve capacity, limit structural damage, and assess the structural dynamic response, further improvements to these methods must be entertained. Optimization of Design for Better Structural Capacity is an essential reference source that discusses the advancement and augmentation of optimization designs for better behavior of structure under different types of loads, as well as the use of these advanced designs in combination with other methods in civil engineering. Featuring research on topics such as industrial software, geotechnical engineering, and systems optimization, this book is ideally designed for architects, professionals, researchers, engineers, and academicians seeking coverage on advanced designs for use in civil engineering environments.

Monitoring drought’s slow evolution and identifying the end of a drought is still a big challenge for scientists, natural resource managers, and decision makers. This comprehensive two-volume set with contributions from over 200 experts, and featuring case studies representing numerous countries throughout the world, discusses different aspects of drought from types, indices, and forecasting to monitoring, modeling, and mitigation measures. It also addresses how climate change is impacting drought and decision-making concluding with lessons learned about science, policy, and managing uncertainty. Features: Provides a global perspective on drought prediction and management and a synthesis of the recent state of knowledge. Covers a wide range of topics from essential concepts and advanced techniques for forecasting and modeling drought to societal impacts, consequences, and planning Presents numerous case studies with different management approaches from different regions and countries. Addresses how climate change impacts drought, the increasing challenges associated with managing drought, decision making, and policy implications. Includes contributions from hundreds of experts around the world. Professionals, researchers, academics, and postgraduate students with knowledge in Environmental Sciences, Ecology, Agriculture, Forestry, Hydrology, Water Resources Engineering, and Earth Sciences, as well as those interested in how climate change impacts drought management, will gain new insights from the experts featured in this two-volume handbook.

Although there are now a large number of computer programmes for solving all sorts of foundation design problems, the need to check these outputs by hand-calculation has become vitally important. This book concentrates on getting the fundamentals right and then using them in practical applications.The book is illustrated with numerous worked examples and with quick-reference tables and charts.

While the construction process still requires traditional skills, the dynamic nature of construction demands of its managers improved understanding of modern business, production and contractual practices. This well established, core undergraduate textbook reflects current best practice in the management of construction projects, with particular emphasis given to supply chains and networks, value and risk management, BIM, ICT, project arrangements, corporate social responsibility, training, health and welfare and environmental sustainability. The overall themes for the Eighth Edition Modern Construction Management are: Drivers for efficiency: lean construction underpinning production management and off-site production methods. Sustainability: reflecting the transition to a low carbon economy. Corporate Social Responsibility: embracing health & safety and employment issues. Modern contractual systems driving effective procurement Building Information Modelling directed towards the improvement of collaboration in construction management systems

Milan and Lombardy have played an important role in the Italian country since the Roman period. This importance is reflected also by the diffusion of stone architecture: a persisting trait of Milan architecture was the use of different stones in the same building. Milan lies in the middle of the alluvial plain of the Po, far from the stone quarries; some waterways were dug out in order to supply the building stones from the surrounding territories. The study of stone as building material was significant at the end of 19th century, but then it was largely neglected by both architects and geologists. So it is significant to suggest a study about the stones employed to build in Milan (Part One) in relationship with a petrographic study about the features of the stones quarried in the whole Lombard territory (Part Two). Part One contains a record of Milanese edifices, edifices marking the different historical periods. Each edifice is described in a "card" containing: the building history, the architect, the kind of stone employed and subdivided according to the different parts of the building, the shape of stone elements. Part Two contains the description of the features of the stones reported in the first part. They are metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the Alpine area; sedimentary rocks and loose materials of the Prealpine area; sedimentary rocks of the Apennine area; loose sediments of the Padania plain. Some stones, coming from other northern Italian regions, and used in Lombard architecture, are also described. Each stone is described in a "card" containing: commercial and historical names, petrographic classification, macroscopic features, mineralogical composition, microscopic features, geological setting, quarry sites, transport to yards, morphology of dressed elements and surface handworking, use in architecture in the whole Lombard territory and abroad, decay morphologies. A particular investigation is addressed to the stones used during the 20th century, a great part of them was never used before in Milan and in Lombardy.