This collection of papers illustrates the work done within a research project on structural identification and diagnostics. The papers deal with problems taken from civil engineering applications and cover various topics in this field, including crack detection in beams and rods, useful in damage detection.

The subject of this book is the design of aluminium alloy structures. The topic is treated from different points of view such as technology, theory, codification and applications. Aluminium alloys are successfully employed in the transportation industry; a parallel trend has been observed in the last decades in civil engineering structures, where aluminium alloys compete with steel (long-span roofing, bridges, hydraulic structures, offshore superstructures). This volume collects the lectures of outstanding international experts who are all involved in the codification activity of Eurocode 9 on Aluminium Structural Design. It illustrates, with particular reference to the fields of transportation and civil engineering, the basic design principles from the material properties and the technological aspects of their application, to the evaluation of the resistance of the structural elements (member and plates) under static, dynamic and fatigue loading conditions.

Stability of structures is one of the most important and interesting fields in mechanics. This book is dedicated to fundamental concepts, problems and methods of structural stability along with qualitative understanding of instability phenomena. The methods presented are constructive and easy to implement in computer programs. Recent exciting experiments on dynamic stability of non-conservative systems are described and shown by many photographs.

Winner of the 2004 Claire P. Holdredge Award of the Association of Engineering Geologists (USA).

The only book to concentrate on the relationship between geology and its implications for construction, this book covers the full scope of the subject from site investigation through to the complexities of reservoirs and dam sites. Features include international case studies throughout, and summaries of accepted practice, plus sections on waste disposal, and contaminated land.

Environmental Geomechanics covers a broad class of problems where deforming geomaterials are involved, usually coupled with fluid flow and transport of some substance. Transport of contaminants and other substances may occur in the fluids, e.g. water, water vapour and air, filling the pores of geomaterials as happens in waste disposal problems or durability problems. Mass transport also takes place in reservoir engineering problems, where the fluids involved are oil, water, and gas. All these aspects are addressed in this book together with a theoretical framework.

George Ellis was one of the premier English writers on carpentry and joinery. This, the author's last book, was originally issued in two volumes; the present edition is a reprint of the 1932 one-volume edition.

The trade of wooden stairbuilding has enjoyed a rebirth during the last ten years. Unfortunately, most trade schools do not teach this complex craft, and there has been little published in the field for many years. This leaves the craftsman at a loss, both for available information and training.

George Ellis has written a very lucid book on the subject. He covers much the same ground as Alexander Mowat in A Treatise on Stairbuilding and Handrailing (page 92), but Ellis is much less technical and more shop oriented. He includes detailed information on taking dimensions and setting out stairs (geometric, spiral, and elliptical), newels, balusters, brackets; constructing soffit linings, single and geometric handrailings, and wreathed handrail to spiral stairs; and he explains the cylinder method of making wreaths.

Digital manipulation of landform is revolutionizing how our built environment is designed and constructed. On a technical level, three dimensional geometric modeling of topography has its origins at the interface of geographic information systems (GIS) and computer aided geometric modeling (CAD): the former with its representations of spatial attribute information with digital terrain in several representations (Triangulated Irregular Networks, contour lines, etc. ); the latter focusing primarily on the parameterization and combination of geometric primitives. The broadening of these two disciplines to embrace new surveying and navigation advances, e. g. global positioning systems (GPS), together with developments in engineering on the application side, are leading to powerful new suites of functionality. There has been a pronounced need for a forum where these traditionally separate parties can interact. These proceedings contain the technical papers selected and formally presented as part of the scientific program of the First International Symposium on Digital Earth Moving, 2001 (DEM 2001) held September 5 7, 2001 at the CIM Institute for Computing Science and Industrial Technologies of the University of Applied Science of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI iCIMSI) in Manno (Lugano), Switzerland. It is the first volume published on this explicit theme. Thirty six submissions were received, from fifteen countries, with thirteen select papers and posters presented in the official program and in this publication.

Ground bearing concrete floors, industrial concrete hardstandings and concrete highway pavements have not, in the past, been perceived as a single type of structural element and their construction has taken place independently of each other. This is in spite of their obvious commonality in the areas of design, materials, geotechnical appreciation and construction. Ground Bearing Concrete Slabs has been specifically written to break down the 'walls' that have arisen between these three areas and focus on the issues that are common to them all. In one practical, yet comprehensive volume, it integrates the three crucial phases in the development of ground bearing concrete slabs - design, specification and construction. Numerous case studies are provided which illustrate the design, construction, investigation and specification of each type of ground bearing slab and each case study has been selected to represent those areas likely to be of most relevance to slab designers. For example, a high bay racking warehouse is illustrated and the overlaying of a heavily loaded industrial hardstanding is described.Because concrete is often the preferred construction material for industrial roads where loads may be infrequent but heavy, two such projects are explained. The book draws from many international authorities, from industrial practice and from the author's own extensive research and, where it is safe to do so, design short-cuts are presented involving simple charts and tables. Through new design methods, such as the 'ultimate limit state analytical approach' and 'cost-effective steel-free design', along with such topics as materials, construction, loading and specifications, Ground bearing concrete slabs examines and elucidates on one of the major areas of structural engineering.

Topology optimization of structures and composite materials is a new and rapidly expanding field of mechanics which now plays an ever-increasing role in most branches of technology, such as aerospace, mechanical, structural, civil and ma terials engineering, with important implications for energy production as well as building and environmental sciences. It is a truly "high-tech" field which requires advanced computer facilities and computational methods, whilst involving unusual theoretical considerations in pure mathematics. Topology optimization deals with some of the most difficult problems of mechanical sciences, but it is also of consid erable practical interest because it can achieve much greater savings than conven tional (sizing or shape) optimization. Extensive research into topology optimization is being carried out in most of the developed countries of the world. The workshop addressed the state of the art of the field, bringing together re searchers from a diversity of backgrounds (mathematicians, information scientists, aerospace, automotive, mechanical, structural and civil engineers) to span the full breadth and depth of the field and to outline future developments in research and avenues of cooperation between NATO and Partner countries. The program cov ered * theoretical (mathematical) developments, * computer algorithms, software development and computational difficulties, and * practical applications in various fields of technology. A novel feature of the workshop was that, in addition to shorter discussions after each lecture, a 30 minutes panel discussion took place in each sesssion, which made this ARW highly interactive and more informal.

Numerical application of Plasticity to Geomechanics is an area of research that has grown rapidly since its origins in the late 1960s. This growth led to new methodologies and analysis approaches that are nowadays commonly employed in Geotechnical Engineering practice. Through the contribution of well-known scholars this book intends to provide an updated overview of some relevant developments and applications in this field. The topics covered in the various chapters of the volume can be summarised as follows: constitutive models for geomaterials, "damage" soil mechanics, non-linear consolidation, swelling soils, influence of the statistical variability of soil properties on the stability of slopes and foundations, numerical analysis of ground improvement techniques, tunneling problems.

A detailed presentation of the major role played by correctly designed and fabricated joints in the safe and reliable response of steel, composite and timber structures. The typology/morphology of connections is discussed for both conventional pinned and rigid joints and semi-rigid types. All relevant topics are comprehensively surveyed: definitions, classification, and influence of joint behaviour on overall structural response. Also presented are the application of the component method, the notion of rotational capacity, the local ductility of different types of earthquake-resistant structural joints as determined in cyclic experiments, numerical techniques for the realistic simulation of joint response, simple and moment-resistant structural connections. Readership: An incomparable resource for engineers who analyze and design steel, composite and timber structures; researchers and graduate students in the same areas.

Most of the existing strong motion instrumentation on civil engineering structures is installed and operated as federal, state, university, industry or private applications, in many cases operated as a closed system. This hampers co-operation and data exchange, hampering the acquisition of strong motion and structural data, sometimes even within a single country. There is a powerful need to inform engineers of existing strong motion data and to improve the accessibility of data worldwide. This book will play a role in fulfilling such a need by disseminating state-of-the art information, technology and developments in the strong motion instrumentation of civil engineering structures. The subject has direct implications for the earthquake response of structures, improvements in design for earthquake resistance, and hazard mitigation. Readership: Researchers in earthquake engineering, engineers designing earthquake resistant structures, and producers of strong motion recording equipment.

Whenever a building, bridge, tunnel or dam collapses, it is front page news. Now two of the world's premier structural engineers take readers on a journey through the history of structural disasters, from the Parthenon and Rome's Coliseum to the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. 200 illustrations.

The catastrophic earthquakes of the last decades (Mexico City, 1985; Loma Prieta, 1989; Northridge, 1994; Kobe, 1995) have seriously undermined the reputation of steel structures, which in the past represented the most suitable solution for seismic resistant structures - even if in very few cases the performance of steel joints and members was unexpectedly bad, showing that it was due to some lack in the current design concept. As a consequence of the lessons learned from the above dramatic events, much progress has been recently achieved in the conception, design and construction, by introducing the new deals of performance-based design, including the differentiation of earthquake types, and considering all factors influencing steel structure behaviour under strong ground movement.In this scenario, the aim of the book is to transfer the most recent achievements into practical rules for the safe design of seismic resistant steel structures. The seven chapters cover the basic principles and design criteria for seismic resistant steel structures, which are applied to the main structural typologies such as moment resistant frames, braced frames and composite structures, with particular reference to connections and details.

Construction time constraints are partly responsible for the increasingly prevalent use of structural steel. The need for swift completed framework and fabrication is of paramount importance. This extensive manual looks at the various aspects of steel construction. It covers the full scope of structural steelwork detailing, including fundamentals, draughting practice and conventions, conventional methods of detailing components, full scale constructed facilities and computer aided practices. A number of codes have also been included for those engineers who wish to carryout in-depth study of practices where jobs are in progress.

This book helps designers and manufacturers to select and develop the most suitable and competitive steel structures, which are safe, fit for production and economic.

An optimum design system is used to find the best characteristics of structural models, which guarantee the fulfilment of design and fabrication requirements and minimize the cost function.

Realistic numerical models are used as main components of industrial steel structures.

Chapter 1 containts some experiences with the optimum design of steel structures

Chapter 2 treats some newer mathematical optimization methods.

Chapter 3 gives formulae for fabrication times and costs.

Chapters 4 deals with beams and columns. Summarizes the Eurocode rules for design.

Chapter 5 deals with the design of tubular trusses.

Chapter 6 gives the design of frame structures and fire-resistant design rules for a frame.

In Chapters 7 some minimum cost design problems of stiffened and cellular plates and shells are worked out for cases of different stiffenings and loads.

Chapter 8 gives a cost comparison of cylindrical and conical shells.

The book contains a large collection of literatures and a subject list and a name index.

This book presents the state of the art of artificial intelligence techniques applied to structural engineering. The 28 revised full papers by leading scientists were solicited for presentation at a meeting held in Ascona, Switzerland, in July 1998.
The recent advances in information technology, in particular decreasing hardware cost, Internet communication, faster computation, increased bandwidth, etc., allow for the application of new AI techniques to structural engineering. The papers presented deal with new aspects of information technology support for the design, analysis, monitoring, control and diagnosis of various structural engineering systems.

A reference for shotcrete technologists and practitioners on this method of concrete placement and its great scope for adaptability, optimization, and error. The text assesses laboratory research projects and also focusses on innovative developments in this field.

All buildings in the UK must now adhere to the recently published wind code BS 6399-2. The introduction of a new code is often traumatic, especially so in this case,as the previous code has been in place for 25 years.The authors considerable practical knowledge of wind engineering, together with his involvement in drafting this standard and his experience in conducting workshops on this subject make him the ideal person to convey the strengths and weaknesses of BS 6399-2 in this guide.Following recent amendments to BS 6399-2(2002) this popular guide has been revised.

This overview of the analysis and design of buildings runs from basic principles and elementary structural analysis to the selection of structural systems and materials, and on to foundations and retaining structures. It presents a variety of approaches and methodologies while featuring realistic design examples. As a comprehensive guide and desk reference for practicing structural and civil engineers, and for engineering students, it draws on the author's teaching experience at The City College of New York and his work as a design engineer and architect. It is especially useful for those taking the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying SE exam.

This classic and well-respected textbook provides the most comprehensive coverage of the process of design for structural elements and features a wealth of practical problems and real-world examples. It introduces readers to the design requirements of the Eurocodes for the four most commonly used materials in construction: concrete, steel, timber and masonry, and illustrates the concepts and calculations necessary for the design of the most frequently encountered basic structural elements. It includes a detailed section on structural analysis. The scope of this text is wide, and its numerous examples, problems and easy-to-follow diagrams make it an ideal course text. This user-friendly text is an indispensable resource both for undergraduates in all years of civil engineering and structural engineering, in construction and architecture, and for practising engineers looking to refresh their knowledge.

Summary: This book presents necessary background knowledge on mechanics to understand and analyze elastic wave propagation in solids and fluids. This knowledge is necessary for elastic wave propagation modeling and for interpreting experimental data generated during ultrasonic nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E). The book covers both linear and nonlinear analyses of ultrasonic NDT&E techniques. The materials presented here also include some exercise problems and solution manual. Therefore, this book can serve as a textbook or reference book for a graduate level course on elastic waves and/or ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation. It will be also useful for instructors who are interested in designing short courses on elastic wave propagation in solids or NDT&E. The materials covered in the first two chapters provide the fundamental knowledge on linear mechanics of deformable solids while Chapter 4 covers nonlinear mechanics. Thus, both linear and nonlinear ultrasonic techniques are covered here. Nonlinear ultrasonic techniques are becoming more popular in recent years for detecting very small defects and damages. However, this topic is hardly covered in currently available textbooks. Researchers mostly rely on published research papers and research monographs to learn about nonlinear ultrasonic techniques. Chapter 3 describes elastic wave propagation modeling techniques using DPSM. Chapter 5 is dedicated to an important and very active research field - acoustic source localization - that is essential for structural health monitoring and for localizing crack and other type of damage initiation regions. Features * Introduces Linear and Nonlinear ultrasonic techniques in a single book. * Commences with basic definitions of displacement, displacement gradient, traction and stress. * Provides step by step derivations of fundamental equations of mechanics as well as linear and nonlinear wave propagation analysis. * Discusses basic theory in addition to providing detailed NDE applications. * Provides extensive example and exercise problems along with an extensive solutions manual.

A comprehensive review of the material behavior of concrete under dynamic loads, especially impact and impuls, opens the volume. It is followed by a summary of the various analytical tools available to engineers interested in analyzing the nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete members for dynamic load. These range from relatively simple and practice-oriented push-over analysis to sophisticated layered finite element models. Important design-related topics are discussed, with special emphasis on performance of concrete frames subjected to seismic loads. The significance of modern software systems is recognized by including extensive examples. For readers not current in dynamic analysis methods, an appendix contains a review of the mathematical methods most commonly used for such analysis.

The aim of the book is to fill up the gaps between theoretical, numerical, and practical design approaches in the field of coupled instabilities of metal structures. The book is organized in a way leading progressively from the mathematical basic theories to the design aspects through numerical and semi-empirical approaches of the interactive buckling of metal structures. Optimum design account taken of coupled instabilities and code aspects are also briefly covered.

Many types of structure are subject to maritime conditions, and construction and maintenance of coastal structures is a major part of the construction workload of any country bordering the sea. This book is a comprehensive source of information for all who are concerned with the commissioning, design, construction or maintenance of concrete structures in or near the sea. As well as describing the nature of the marine environment and the effects of man-made structures on the behaviour of the sea, this books deals with hydraulic design, the material properties of concrete and the design and specification of structures for coastal environments. The deterioration of concrete in coastal structures is usually a result of lack of durability rather than overloading, so much of the book has been directed towards the production of durable structures. British standards and other standards and codes from around the world are discussed, along with the planning of construction works under coastal conditions, and the maintenance of coastal structures. All of the chapters were written specially for this book by practising engineers with specialised knowledge and wide experience of coastal engineering. As most of the authors have been responsible for work in many parts of the world, this book is relevant regardless of where coastal structures are situated.