Improved geospatial instrumentation and technology such as in laser scanning has now resulted in millions of data being collected, e.g., point clouds. It is in realization that such huge amount of data requires efficient and robust mathematical solutions that this third edition of the book extends the second edition by introducing three new chapters: Robust parameter estimation, Multiobjective optimization and Symbolic regression. Furthermore, the linear homotopy chapter is expanded to include nonlinear homotopy. These disciplines are discussed first in the theoretical part of the book before illustrating their geospatial applications in the applications chapters where numerous numerical examples are presented. The renewed electronic supplement contains these new theoretical and practical topics, with the corresponding Mathematica statements and functions supporting their computations introduced and applied. This third edition is renamed in light of these technological advancements.

The book discusses the concept of the smart city, and is based on a multi-service and multi-sectoral approach to urban planning, including various urban functions and the human capital of cities. The work is divided into three parts. The first is an introductory section which covers definitions, policies and tools used at European level for the development and classification of a smart city. The second presents a selection of examples of Western and Eastern communities, which experienced technologies and strategies that have made them smart. The third describes in detail the main three possible approaches (economical, technological and social) to the smart city concept which are the focus ambits of the holistic concept of smart city. The work provides a good overview of the concept of smart city, and also offers a critical analysis of the various approaches to smart cities, in order to provide tools to develop solutions that address the smart development of cities with an approach as multi-sectoral as possible. Its accessible language and several examples make the book easy to read and appealing to public administrators, students, planners and researchers.

This book reveals the underlying mechanisms of complexity and stochastic evolutions of traffic flows. Using Eulerian and Lagrangian measurements, the authors propose lognormal headway/spacing/velocity distributions and subsequently develop a Markov car-following model to describe drivers' random choices concerning headways/spacings, putting forward a stochastic fundamental diagram model for wide scattering flow-density points. In the context of highway onramp bottlenecks, the authors present a traffic flow breakdown probability model and spatial-temporal queuing model to improve the stability and reliability of road traffic flows. This book is intended for researchers and graduate students in the fields of transportation engineering and civil engineering.

This volume represents the proceedings of the Second International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB'10, held in the City of Brighton and Hove in the United Kingdom, and organised by KES International. Organised by the KES International organisation, SEB'10 formed a welcome opportunity for researchers in subjects related to sustainability, renewable energy technology, and applications in the built environment to mix with other scientists, industrialists and stakeholders in the field. SEB'10 attracted papers on a range of renewable energy and sustainability related topics and in addition the conference explored two innovative themes:- * The application of intelligent sensing, control, optimisation and modelling techniques to sustainability and * The technology of sustainable buildings. These techniques could ultimately be applied to the intelligent building SEB'10 attracted about 100 submissions from around the world. These were subjected to a two-stage blind peer-review process. With the objective of producing a high quality conference, the best 30% of these were selected for presentation at the conference and publication in this volume of proceedings. The papers in this volume are grouped into the five themes under which they were presented: Building Sustainability, Sustainable Power Generation, Sustainable Energy Policy and Strategy, Energy Monitoring and Management and Solar Energy Technology. These proceedings form an interesting and informative collection of papers, useful as a resource for further research, and a valuable source of information for those interested in the subject.

This book deals with various computational procedures for multiple repeated analyses (reanalysis) of structures, and presents them in a unified approach. It meets the need for a general text covering the basic concepts and methods as well as recent developments in this area. Reanalysis is common to numerous analysis and design tasks such as nonlinear analysis, structural optimization, damage analysis, and probabilistic analysis. The book discusses various analysis models, including linear and nonlinear analysis, static and dynamic analysis, and design sensitivity analysis. It demonstrates how various concepts and methods are integrated to achieve effective solution procedures. The approach presented has several advantages in terms of generality, efficiency of the calculations, accuracy of the results and ease of implementation. Efficiency and accuracy considerations are discussed and illustrated. To clarify the presentation, many illustrative examples and numerical results are demonstrated. The text is related to a wide range of applications in such fields as Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Naval Architecture. This should prove useful to students, researchers, analysts and consultants involved in analysis and design of structures. Previous books on structural analysis do not cover most of the material presented in the book.

This unique reference gathers numerous new studies examining specific, prominent high-rise buildings around the world. Each nuanced study included undertakes the following pivotal considerations: environmental impacts; safety & social acceptability; energy consumption and comfort; planning contexts within the urban zone; physical footprint and size; services and risks; and a careful assessment of advantages and challenges. Architects and engineers exploring and optimizing sustainable building practices, energy managers, municipal and private project planners, as well as students will find edification and inspiration in the analysis provided by esteemed practitioners and professors within this fascinating volume.

Taking an engineering, rather than a mathematical, approach, Bounding uncertainty in Civil Engineering - Theoretical Background deals with the mathematical theories that use convex sets of probability distributions to describe the input data and/or the final response of systems. The particular point of view of the authors is centered on the applications to civil engineering problems, and the theory of random sets has been adopted as a basic and relatively simple model. However, the authors have tried to elucidate its connections to the more general theory of imprecise probabilities, Choquet capacities, fuzzy sets, p-boxes, convex sets of parametric probability distributions, and approximate reasoning both in one dimension and in several dimensions with associated joint spaces. If choosing the theory of random sets may lead to some loss of generality, it has, on the other hand, allowed for a self-contained selection of the topics and a more unified presentation of the theoretical contents and algorithms. With over 80 examples worked out step by step, the book should assist newcomers to the subject (who may otherwise find it difficult to navigate a vast and dispersed literature) in applying the techniques described to their own specific problems.

The concept for the Water Environment of Cities arose from a workshop "Green 1 Cities, Blue Waters" workshop held in 2006. The workshop assembled experts from engineering, planning, economics, law, hydrology, aquatic ecology, geom- phology, and other disciplines to present research ?ndings and identify key new ideas on the urban water environment. At a lunch discussion near the end of the workshop, several of us came to the recognition that despite having considerable expertise in a narrow discipline, none of us had a vision of the "urban water en- ronment" as a whole. We were, as in the parable, blind men at opposite ends of the elephant, knowinga great deal about the parts, but notunderstandingthe whole. We quickly recognized the need to develop a book that would integrate this knowledge to create this vision. The goal was to develop a book that could be used to teach a complete, multidisciplinary course, "The Urban Water Environment," but could also be used as a supplemental text for courses on urban ecosystems, urban design, landscapearchitecture, water policy, waterqualitymanagement andwatershed m- agement. The book is also valuable as a reference source for water professionals stepping outside their arena of disciplinary expertise. The Water Environment of Cities is the ?rst book to use a holistic, interdis- plinary approach to examine the urban water environment. We have attempted to portrayaholisticvisionbuiltaround theconcept of water as a coreelement ofcities. Water has multipleroles: municipalwatersupply, aquatichabitat, landscapeaesth- ics, and recreation. Increasingly, urban water is reused, serving multiple purposes.

Acoustic Emission (AE) techniques have been studied in civil engineering for a long time. The techniques are recently going to be more and more applied to practical applications and to be standardized in the codes. This is because the increase of aging structures and disastrous damages due to recent earthquakes urgently demand for maintenance and retrofit of civil structures in service for example. It results in the need for the development of advanced and effective inspection techniques. Thus, AE techniques draw a great attention to diagnostic applications and in material testing. The book covers all levels from the description of AE basics for AE beginners (level of a student) to sophisticated AE algorithms and applications to real large-scale structures as well as the observation of the cracking process in laboratory specimen to study fracture processes.

This book outlines the underlying principles on which modern road lighting is based, and provides the reader with knowledge of how these principles should be applied in practice. This book offers a completely fresh approach to the subject, reflecting how the technology of road lighting has progressed to keep up with the changes in lamp technology, especially in solid state light sources, and the increasing awareness of energy use and environmental issues. The book is divided into three parts. Part One describes lighting of open roads, with chapters discussing visual performance and comfort (including the effects of mesopic vision and age), and international standards and recommendations for road lighting. Lighting equipment is introduced; specifically lamps and luminaires in terms of their practical properties and features, but also the road surface and its characteristics. A chapter on Lighting Design makes the link between theory and practice, providing the reader with the knowledge needed for effective lighting design, including aspects relating to sustainability. The final chapter of Part One deals with lighting calculation conventions and measurements. Part Two is devoted to light pollution. The negative consequences of light pollution are described and tactics to restrict light pollution explained. Lighting criteria are defined that can be used by the lighting designer to guarantee installations stay within acceptable limits. International standards and recommendations on the restriction of light pollution are discussed. Part Three is devoted to tunnel lighting, with chapters discussing visual performance in tunnel environments, lighting criteria, standards and recommendations, and concluding with a chapter on tunnel lighting equipment and design. This book is a valuable resource for road lighting designers and engineers, students of lighting design and engineering, town planners, traffic engineers, environmental specialists, and lamp and luminaire developers and manufacturers.

The perception, assessment and management of risk are increasingly important core principles for determining the development of both policy and strategic responses to civil and environmental catastrophes. Whereas these principles were once confined to some areas of activity i.e. financial and insurance, they are now widely used in civil and environmental engineering. Comprehensive and readable, Civil and Environmental Risk: Mitigation and Control, provides readers with the mathematical tools and quantitative methods for determining the probability of a catastrophic event and mitigating and controlling the aftermath. With this book engineers develop the required skills for accurately assessing risk and formulating appropriate response strategies. The two part treatment starts with a clear and rigorous exposition of the quantitative risk assessment process, followed by self-contained chapters concerning applications. One of the first books to address both natural and human generated disasters, topics include events such as pandemic diseases, climate changes, major hurricanes, super earthquakes, mega tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, industrial accidents and terrorist attacks. Case studies appear at the end of the book allowing engineers to see how these principles are applied to scenarios such as a super hurricane or mega tsunamis, a reactor core melt down in a nuclear plant, a terrorist attack on the national electric grid, and an abrupt climate change brought about by a change in the ocean currents in the North Atlantic. Written by the current Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, Environmental risk managers will find this reference a valuable and authoritative guide both in accurately calculating risk and its applications in their work.

Key Features
Mathematical tools for calculating and Controlling Catastrophic Risk
Presents a systematic method for ranking the importance of societal threats
Includes both Natural and Industrial Catastrophes
Case studies cover such events as pandemic diseases, climate changes, major hurricanes, super earthquakes, mega tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, industrial accidents, and terrorist attacks.

This book offers the guidelines on long-term confinement of fine particulate waste products in a safe and environmentally acceptable location. It seeks to present the state of the art, drawing on combined experience from within the European Union (EU), on good international practice where relevant and on lessons learnt from recent untoward incidents. These guidelines have been developed in parallel with the development of the European Standard on Earthworks (prEN 16907) and the contents have been influenced by the well-publicised need for guidance to all stakeholders on both technical and regulatory aspects of the permitting, design and construction of extractive waste facilities in Europe. The Extractive Waste Directive (EWD) imposes a duty on all operators and regulators to ensure the competent design, operation and closure of such facilities. However, though some guidance has been published on a limited number of related technical elements, the relevance of these contributions has been diminished by the lack of an integrated approach. It is now evident to both regulatory bodies and operators alike that a unified and comprehensive document providing guidance to all stakeholders is required if the future of mining within the EU is to be assured and further untoward incidents avoided. These guidelines seek to address all technical stages of the development of a hydraulic fill project in the context of the EWD, with an emphasis on waste and facility characterisation and on the risk-based assessments which underwrite them. They are intended for use by all stakeholders involved in those European industries which involve the generation, transport and storage of fine particulate waste products requiring long-term confinement in a safe, stable and environmentally acceptable location.

The special focus of these proceedings is on the areas of infrastructure engineering and sustainability management. They provide detailed information on innovative research developments in construction materials and structures, in addition to a compilation of interdisciplinary findings combining nano-materials and engineering. The coverage of cutting-edge infrastructure and sustainability issues in engineering includes earthquakes, bioremediation, synergistic management, timber engineering, flood management and intelligent transport systems.

The discovery, in the middle of the 17th century, of both the weight of air and the law governing its elasticity transformed the status of the atmosphere from that of a purely mathematical object to that of a complex and highly variable physical system. In the context of rapidly intensifying experimentation and observation, the nature of the atmosphere was therefore the subject of a host of hypotheses, which 18th century scholars tried to reconcile with a coherent physical approach. In particular, this was achieved by the conceptualization of invisible or "subtle" materials, thought to be closely linked to atmospheric stratification. Subtle matter was introduced, largely to reconcile contradictory results concerning the estimation of the height of the atmosphere. These estimations were based on different methods, mainly using the observation of meteors and the refracted and reflected light of stars. Taking as its common thread the question of the height of the atmosphere, which was omnipresent in the texts at the time, this book traces the history of the discovery of the atmosphere and the many questions it generated.

The Nirma University International Conference on Engineering NUiCONE is a flagship event of the Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad. NUiCONE-2015 is focussed on events/themes in the current trends in Engineering and its research issues. Practicing engineers, technologists and technopreneurs from the industry will engage in special knowledge sharing sessions using applied technical papers by industry participants on case-study applications, white-papers, panel discussions, industrial exhibitions of innovations and technology products etc. This proceedings book includes peer reviewed and presented research papers by research scholars and professionals from academia, industry and government R&D organizations. The papers included in this proceedings volume present unpublished research of participating researchers related to some specific multi-disciplinary themes addressing sustainable engineering fields like Sustainable Manufacturing Processes; Design and Analysis of Machine & Mechanisms; Energy Conservation and Management; Concrete and Structural Engineering; Infrastructure Project Planning and Management; Chemical Process Development and Design; and Technologies for Green Environment.

Improved knowledge in the field of technical objects operation and control helps manufacturers to decrease energy consumption and keep construction costs low. Moreover, it helps dealing effectively with environmental problems and switching to renewable forms of energy on the path of sustainable development of the society. The methods and technologies presented in this book will allow to improve the effectiveness of technical objects control and helps achieving safe, economical, high-quality usage of power engineering and information technologies. The book presents recent advances in power engineering, electric drives, transport systems, power electronics, cybersecurity and others. Vital issues of innovative small vehicles with using hydrogen fuel as well as boring rigs and underwater hydraulic transport pipelines are considered. The book offers a fresh look at energy-saving and energy efficiency in industry, new ideas in information technologies, paying much attention to interdisciplinary specification of the results obtained.

Sleep medicine has been developing for more than 40 years. The current concepts in sleep technology are mainly centered on polysomnography (PSG) and issues related to sleep technicians. However, the editorsbelieve that the true value of technology is revealed only when benefits to humanity are manifest. To this end, they endeavor to create a new era in sleep technology, one that will improve the quality of people's sleep and daily lives.

This edited book, Introduction to Modern Sleep Technology, provides a comprehensive reference volume to the latest advancements in the area of Sleep Technology. It offers an excellent range of insights and opinions from leading researchers and experts in multiple disciplines spanning academia, clinical practice and industry. Up-to-date insights into the current research topics in this field are featured in addition to the latest technological advances with reference to appropriate working examples.

Thecurrentbookcombines the five dimensions of knowledge, i.e., sleep medicine, clinical psychology engineering, industrial design and technology management to ensure the content is applicable to people's daily lives.

This edited book, Introduction to Modern Sleep Technology, provides a comprehensive reference volume to the latest advancements in the area of Sleep Technology. It offers an excellent range of insights and opinions from leading researchers and experts in multiple disciplines spanning academia, clinical practice and industry. Up-to-date insights into the current research topics in this field are featured in addition to the latest technological advances with reference to appropriate working examples.

Thecurrentbookcombines the five dimensions of knowledge, i.e., sleep medicine, clinical psychology engineering, industrial design and technology management to ensure the content is applicable to people's daily lives.

Thecurrentbookcombines the five dimensions of knowledge, i.e., sleep medicine, clinical psychology engineering, industrial design and technology management to ensure the content is applicable to people's daily lives.

This book provides a comprehensive and updated insight into dielectric elastomers; one of the most promising classes of polymer-based smart materials and technologies. This technology can be used in a very broad range of applications, from robotics and automation to the biomedical field.
The need for improved transducer performance has resulted in considerable efforts towards the development of devices relying on materials with intrinsic transduction properties. These materials, often termed as "smart" or "intelligent," include improved piezoelectrics and magnetostrictive or shape-memory materials. Emerging electromechanical transduction technologies, based on so-called ElectroActive Polymers (EAP), have gained considerable attention. EAP offer the potential for performance exceeding other smart materials, while retaining the cost and versatility inherent to polymer materials. Within the EAP family, "dielectric elastomers," are of particular interest as they show good overall performance, simplicity of structure and robustness. Dielectric elastomer transducers are rapidly emerging as high-performance "pseudo-muscular" actuators, useful for different kinds of tasks. Further, in addition to actuation, dielectric elastomers have also been shown to offer unique possibilities for improved generator and sensing devices.
Dielectric elastomer transduction is enabling an enormous range of new applications that were precluded to any other EAP or smart-material technology until recently.
This book provides a comprehensive and updated insight into dielectric elastomer transduction, covering all its fundamental aspects. The book deals with transduction principles, basic materialsproperties, design of efficient device architectures, material and device modelling, along with applications.
* Concise and comprehensive treatment for practitioners and academics
* Guides the reader through the latest developments in electroactive-polymer-based technology
* Designed for ease of use with sections on fundamentals, materials, devices, models and applications

This book presents the concepts and tools of ice mechanics, together with examples of their application in the fields of glaciology, climate research and civil engineering in cold regions. It starts with an account of the most important physical properties of sea and polar ice treated as an anisotropic polycrystalline material, and reviews relevant field observations and experimental measurements. The book focuses on theoretical descriptions of the material behaviour of ice in different stress, deformation and deformation-rate regimes on spatial scales ranging from single ice crystals, those typical in civil engineering applications, up to scales of thousands of kilometres, characteristic of large, grounded polar ice caps in Antarctica and Greenland. In addition, it offers a range of numerical formulations based on either discrete (finite-element, finite-difference and smoothed particle hydrodynamics) methods or asymptotic expansion methods, which have been used by geophysicists, theoretical glaciologists and civil engineers to simulate the behaviour of ice in a number of problems of importance to glaciology and civil engineering, and discusses the results of these simulations. The book is intended for scientists, engineers and graduate students interested in mathematical and numerical modelling of a wide variety of geophysical and civil engineering problems involving natural ice.

This book is primarily a general text covering the whole sweep of the forest industries. The over-riding emphasis is on a clear, simple interpretation of the underlying science, demonstrating how such principles apply to processing operations. The book starts by considering the broad question what is wood? by looking at the biology, chemistry and physics of wood structure (first 4 chapters). This sets the scene. Next key chapters examine wood quality - explaining how and why wood quality can be so variable and implications for processing. Finally, in a series of chapters, various industrial processes are reviewed and interpreted. The 2nd Edition is a total revision. A few chapters remain relatively unchanged (no change for the sake of change). Many have been totally rewritten. All chapters have been written by specialists, but the presentation targets a generalist audience.