This book describes the prerequisites for the placing on the market and the safe use of machinery in compliance with the relevant EU Directives, especially the Machinery Directive 2006/42. It provides readers with high-level knowledge concerning the Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSR) that machinery must fulfill. The approach and principles of the Machinery Directive were most recently made worldwide acknowledged in the ILO code of practice on safe machinery, released in 2013. The book addresses that code, as well as providing valuable insight into other EU Product and Workplace legislation. Focusing on the key aspect of safe machinery, the "machinery safety risk assessment", which allows readers to better understand the more difficult aspects of risk assessments, the book equips readers to tackle problems at the manufacturing stage and in different use scenarios, introducing them to risk reduction techniques and functional safety aspects.

Equipment to be installed in electric power-transmission and distribution systems must pass acceptance tests with standardized high-voltage or high-current test impulses which simulate the stress on the insulation caused by external lightning discharges and switching operations in the grid. High impulse voltages and currents are also used in many other fields of science and engineering for various applications. Therefore, precise impulse-measurement techniques are necessary, either to prevent an over- or understressing of the insulation or to guarantee the effectiveness and quality of the application. The target audience primarily comprises engineers and technicians but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students of high-voltage engineering and electrical power supply systems.

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.

The importance of power system reliability is demonstrated when our electricity supply is disrupted, whether it decreases the comfort of our free time at home or causes the shutdown of our companies and results in huge economic deficits. The objective of Assessment of Power System Reliability is to contribute to the improvement of power system reliability. It consists of six parts divided into twenty chapters. The first part introduces the important background issues that affect power system reliability. The second part presents the reliability methods that are used for analyses of technical systems and processes. The third part discusses power flow analysis methods, because the dynamic aspect of a power system is an important part of related reliability assessments. The fourth part explores various aspects of the reliability assessment of power systems and their parts. The fifth part covers optimization methods. The sixth part looks at the application of reliability and optimization methods. Assessment of Power System Reliability has been written in straightforward language that continues into the mathematical representation of the methods. Power engineers and developers will appreciate the emphasis on practical usage, while researchers and advanced students will benefit from the simple examples that can facilitate their understanding of the theory behind power system reliability and that outline the procedure for application of the presented methods.

The book provides readers with a snapshot of recent research and industrial trends in field of industrial acoustics and vibration. Each chapter, accepted after a rigorous peer-review process, reports on a selected, original piece of work presented and discussed at International Conference on Acoustics and Vibration (ICAV2016), which was organized by the Tunisian Association of Industrial Acoustics and Vibration (ATAVI) and held March 21-23, in Hammamet, Tunisia. The contributions, mainly written by north African authors, covers advances in both theory and practice in a variety of subfields, such as: smart materials and structures; fluid-structure interaction; structural acoustics as well as computational vibro-acoustics and numerical methods. Further topics include: engines control, noise identification, robust design, flow-induced vibration and many others.This book provides a valuable resource for both academics and professionals dealing with diverse issues in applied mechanics. By combining advanced theories with industrial issues, it is expected to facilitate communication and collaboration between different groups of researchers and technology users.

This book analyses the relationships among product safety strategy and culture, concurrent engineering, new product development (NPD) processes and product safety performance. Product safety is a matter of enormous economic and societal concern, given the safety risks to consumers and the financial risks to producers. Nevertheless, a thorough conceptual understanding of the effects of NPD policies and practices is still largely missing, as several large-scale trends have made clarifying the role of product safety in its socio-economic context difficult, including: the rise of consumerism and the shift in the balance of power from manufacturers to customers and regulators; the internationalization of value chains and the fragmentation of markets worldwide; and technological change leading to a sophistication of products that rendered average consumers increasingly unaware of risk and potential accidents. This volume sets out to close the gaps among research, practice and policy, with an emphasis on advocating responsible product innovation. Through an in-depth study of the durable juvenile products industry, the authors discover important relationships, for example that top management involvement, safety-first culture and robust NPD processes are paramount in increasing product safety and decreasing product recalls in firms. On the other end of the spectrum, concurrent engineering does not automatically lead to product safety, they found no "magic bullet" through which product safety can be tied to the use of a particular tool, skill, or practice. Offering a dynamic framework for aligning the interests of multiple stakeholders, including manufacturers, regulators, and consumers, the authors provide a clearer understanding of product safety and its implications for scholars, students, policy makers, and practitioners in the areas of innovation management, product management, R&D management, and responsible research and innovation.

"Tokamak Engineering Mechanics" offers concise and thorough coverage of engineering mechanics theory and application for tokamaks, and the material is reinforced by numerous examples. Chapter topics include general principles, static mechanics, dynamic mechanics, thermal fluid mechanics and multiphysics structural mechanics of tokamak structure analysis. The theoretical principle of the design and the methods of the analysis for various components and load conditions are presented, while the latest engineering technologies are also introduced. The book will provide readers involved in the study of mechanical/fusion engineering with a general understanding of tokamak engineering mechanics.
Yuntao Song is Head of the Tokamak Design Division at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academic of Science (ASIPP), China.

Electrical power systems are, in general, amongst the most reliable systems worldwide. These large interconnected systems, however, often operate under stressed conditions because of the increasing demand for electricity and the challenges associated with improving the infrastructure due to both economical and environmental issues. Some of the major challenges facing the electricity industry today include balancing between resource adequacy, reliability, economics, environmental and other public purpose objectives to optimize transmission and distribution resources to meet the growing demand. The capability of a power system depends on network constraints, generated power, line currents, nodal voltage amplitudes, and stability margins. If modern or enhanced facilities are not affordable, a renewed effort in assessing and rationalizing the exploitation of the system capability is highly recommended.

Solutions to these complex issues are offered through the integration of modern information and communication technologies with reliable methodologies for power systems analysis. The goal of this book is to provide a vision for a comprehensive and systematic approach to meet the grid management challenges through new information services.

Margot P. C. Weijnen, Zofia Lukszo and Geert Deconinck Abstract The infrastructures for electric power and information and telecommunication services are critical enablers for all economic activity. Both of these infrastructure systems evolved over time as networks-of-networks in an institutionally fr- mented landscape. In understanding and steering the emergent behaviour of these infrastructure systems both their physical network complexity and their social n- work complexity pose a formidable challenge. On top of the socio-technical c- plexity of the electricity infrastructure and the information and telecommunication infrastructure as such, the two infrastructure systems show unprecedented mutual interdependency. Unravelling this multi-level interdependency and identifying strategies to curb the new risks and vulnerabilities it implies for the reliability of electric power services is the goal of this book. It clearly shows that technical so- tions alone will not suffice to ensure the future reliability and security of electricity infrastructure operations. Keywords Cybersecurity * infrastructure vulnerability * infrastructure depend- cies * power systems 1. 1 Infrastructures Are Critical Infrastructures are the backbone of the economy and society. Especially the network bound infrastructures operated by public utilities and network industries provide essential services that are enabling for almost every economic and social activity. M. P. C. Weijnen (*) and Z. Lukszo Technology Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, P. O. Box 5015, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands e-mail: M. P. C. Weijnen@tudelft. nl; Z. Lukszo@tudelft. nl G. Deconinck K. U.

This book deals with a number of fundamental issues related to the practical implementation of ultrasonic NDT techniques in an industrial environment. The book discusses advanced academic research results and their application to industrial procedures. The text covers the choice and generation of the signals energizing the system to probe position optimization, from quality assessment evaluation to tomographic inversion. With a focus to deepen a number of fundamental aspects involved in the specific objective of designing and developing an ultrasonic imaging system for nondestructive testing, aimed to automatically classify the entire production of an industrial production line, targeted to the field of precision mechanics. The contents of this book is the result of the common effort of six University Research Groups that focused their research activities for two years on this specific objective, working in direct conjunction with primary industrial firms, in a research project funded by the Italian government as a Strategic Research Project.

This volume collects the papers from the World Conference on Acoustic Emission 2015 (WCAE-2015) in Hawaii. The latest research and applications of Acoustic Emission (AE) are explored, with particular emphasis on detecting and processing of AE signals, development of AE instrument and testing standards, AE of materials, engineering structures and systems, including the processing of collected data and analytical techniques as well as experimental case studies.

This book proposes the formulation of an efficient methodology that estimates energy system uncertainty and predicts Remaining Useful Life (RUL) accurately with significantly reduced RUL prediction uncertainty. Renewable and non-renewable sources of energy are being used to supply the demands of societies worldwide. These sources are mainly thermo-chemo-electro-mechanical systems that are subject to uncertainty in future loading conditions, material properties, process noise, and other design parameters.It book informs the reader of existing and new ideas that will be implemented in RUL prediction of energy systems in the future. The book provides case studies, illustrations, graphs, and charts. Its chapters consider engineering, reliability, prognostics and health management, probabilistic multibody dynamical analysis, peridynamic and finite-element modelling, computer science, and mathematics.

Over the years I have worked with or consulted for many managers throughout the world at all levels of industry and government. I have seen who succeeded, achieved goals, and made progress, and who failed or crashed. I have studied their methods of operation and their decision-making approach, as well as the range of people involved in the decision-making. I similarly personally managed large industrial and service organizations and their operations, and found that to succeed and have a content team of collaborators, decision-making had to be joint and delegated to the lowest competent and informed level. Using this approach not only improved the performance of the organization or firm, but also resulted in a more content, professional, cooperative, happy, and competent workforce. In general, people like to assume responsibility, particularly of functions with which they are intimately familiar. They enjoy the role of de- sion-maker and the use of their knowledge and experience in guiding their and related work. Delegation of decision-making not only infuses pride and conte- ment but also assures more informed, timely, and effective implementation of de- sions. It also adds to worker training and education as workers inquire, develop information and use of their own experience in improving their decision-making. Worker pride and feeling of control and involvement lead to contentment and s- isfaction which, in return, pays dividends in worker productivity, morale, retention, and resulting low turnover.

The integrated and advanced science research topic man-machine-environment system engineering (MMESE) was first established in China by Professor Shengzhao Long in 1981, with direct support from one of the greatest modern Chinese scientists, Xuesen Qian. In a letter to Shengzhao Long from October 22nd, 1993, Xuesen Qian wrote: "You have created a very important modern science and technology in China!" MMESE primarily focuses on the relationship between man, machines and the environment, studying the optimum combination of man-machine-environment systems. In this system, "man" refers to people in the workplace (e.g. operators, decision-makers); " machine" is the general name for any object controlled by man (including tools, machinery, computers, systems and technologies), and "environment" describes the specific working conditions under which man and machine interact (e.g. temperature, noise, vibration, hazardous gases etc.). The three goals of optimization of man-machine-environment systems are to ensure safety, efficiency and economy. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Man-Machine-Environment System Engineering are an academic showcase of the best papers selected from more than 400 submissions, introducing readers to the top research topics and the latest developmental trends in the theory and application of MMESE. These proceedings are interdisciplinary studies on the concepts and methods of physiology, psychology, system engineering, computer science, environment science, management, education, and other related disciplines. Researchers and professionals working in these interdisciplinary fields and researchers on MMESE related topics will benefit from these proceedings.

Condition Monitoring Using Computational Intelligence Methods promotes the various approaches gathered under the umbrella of computational intelligence to show how condition monitoring can be used to avoid equipment failures and lengthen its useful life, minimize downtime and reduce maintenance costs. The text introduces various signal-processing and pre-processing techniques, wavelets and principal component analysis, for example, together with their uses in condition monitoring and details the development of effective feature extraction techniques classified into frequency-, time-frequency- and time-domain analysis. Data generated by these techniques can then be used for condition classification employing tools such as: * fuzzy systems; rough and neuro-rough sets; neural and Bayesian networks;hidden Markov and Gaussian mixture models; and support vector machines.

This book describes the basic concepts of risk and reliability with detailed descriptions of the different levels of probabilistic safety assessment of nuclear power plants (both internal and external). The book also maximizes readers insights into time dependent risk analysis through several case studies, whilst risk management with respect to non renewable energy sources is also explained. With several advanced reactors utilizing the concept of passive systems, the reliability estimation of these systems are explained in detail with the book providing a reliability estimation of components through mechanistic model approach. This book is useful for advanced undergraduate and post graduate students in nuclear engineering, aerospace engineering, industrial engineering, reliability and safety engineering, systems engineering and applied probability and statistics. This book is also suitable for one-semester graduate courses on risk management of non renewable energy systems in all conventional engineering branches like civil, mechanical, chemical, electrical and electronics as well as computer science. It will also be a valuable reference for practicing engineers, managers and researchers involved in reliability and safety activities of complex engineering systems.

We think we have scientific knowledge when we know the cause. (Aristotle, Posterior Analytics Book II, Part 11) About 12 years ago, when I was a graduate student, many people were concerned about my Ph. D. topic - investigating the effect of the complexity of procedu- lized tasks on the performance of human operators working in nuclear power plants. Although they agreed with the fact that procedures (especially emergency operating procedures) play a crucial role in securing the safety of nuclear power plants, it was amazing that most of them pointed out a very similar issue: "I cannot understand why operating personnel see any difficulty (or complexity) in condu- ing procedures, because all that they have to do is to follow a simple IF-THEN- ELSE rule as written. " Actually, this issue is closely related to one of the main questions I was recently asked, such as "Don't you think your work is too acad- ic to apply to actual procedures?" or "I guess we don't need to consider the c- plexity of procedures, because we can develop a good procedure using many pr- tical procedure writers' guidelines. Then what is the real contribution of your work?" I absolutely agree with the latter comment. Yes, we can develop a good pro- dure with the support of many practical and excellent guidelines.

Quality is not a fixed or universal property of software; it depends on the context and goals of its stakeholders. Hence, when you want to develop a high-quality software system, the first step must be a clear and precise specification of quality. Yet even if you get it right and complete, you can be sure that it will become invalid over time. So the only solution is continuous quality control: the steady and explicit evaluation of a product's properties with respect to its updated quality goals. This book guides you in setting up and running continuous quality control in your environment. Starting with a general introduction on the notion of quality, it elaborates what the differences between process and product quality are and provides definitions for quality-related terms often used without the required level of precision. On this basis, the work then discusses quality models as the foundation of quality control, explaining how to plan desired product qualities and how to ensure they are delivered throughout the entire lifecycle. Next it presents the main concepts and techniques of continuous quality control, discussing the quality control loop and its main techniques such as reviews or testing. In addition to sample scenarios in all chapters, the book is rounded out by a dedicated chapter highlighting several applications of different subsets of the presented quality control techniques in an industrial setting. The book is primarily intended for practitioners working in software engineering or quality assurance, who will benefit by learning how to improve their current processes, how to plan for quality, and how to apply state-of-the-art quality control techniques. Students and lecturers in computer science and specializing in software engineering will also profit from this book, which they can use in practice-oriented courses on software quality, software maintenance and quality assurance.

This monograph and translation from the Russian describes in detail and comments on the fundamentals of metrology. The basic concepts of metrology, the principles of the International System of Units SI, the theory of measurement uncertainty, the new methodology of estimation of measurement accuracy on the basis of the uncertainty concept, as well as the methods for processing measurement results and estimating their uncertainty are discussed from the modern position. It is shown that the uncertainty concept is compatible with the classical theory of accuracy. The theory of random uncertainties is supplemented with their most general description on the basis of generalized normal distribution; the instrumental systematic errors are presented in connection with the methodology of normalization of the metrological characteristics of measuring instruments.

The information about modern systems of traceability is given. All discussed theoretical principles and calculation methods are illustrated with examples.

This volume presents measurement uncertainty and uncertainty budgets in a form accessible to practicing engineers and engineering students from across a wide range of disciplines. The book gives a detailed explanation of the methods presented by NIST in the "GUM" - Guide to Uncertainty of Measurement. Emphasis is placed on explaining the background and meaning of the topics, while keeping the level of mathematics at the minimum level necessary. Dr. Colin Ratcliffe, USNA, and Bridget Ratcliffe, Johns Hopkins, develop uncertainty budgets and explain their use. In some examples, the budget may show a process is already adequate and where costs can be saved. In other examples, the budget may show the process is inadequate and needs improvement. The book demonstrates how uncertainty budgets help identify the most cost effective place to make changes. In addition, an extensive fully-worked case study leads readers through all issues related to an uncertainty analysis, including a variety of different types of uncertainty budgets. The book is ideal for professional engineers and students concerned with a broad range of measurement assurance challenges in applied sciences. This book also: Facilitates practicing engineers' understanding of uncertainty budgets, essential to calculating cost-effective savings to a wide variety of processes contingent on measurement Presents uncertainty budgets in an accessible style suitable for all undergraduate STEM courses that include a laboratory component Provides a highly adaptable supplement to graduate textbooks for courses where students' work includes reporting on experimental results Includes an expanded case study developing uncertainty from transducers though measurands and propagated to the final measurement that can be used as a template for the analysis of many processes Stands as a useful pocket reference for all engineers and experimental scientists

"...a comprehensive and well written book, which...will be useful reading for both researchers entering the field and experienced specialists looking for new ideas....a valuable and long-lasting contribution to experimental mechanics." - Stepan Lomov, KU Leuven This expert volume, an enhanced Habilitation thesis by the head of the Materials Testing Research Group at the University of Augsburg, provides detailed coverage of a range of inspection methods for insitu characterization of fiber-reinforced composites. The failure behavior of fiber reinforced composites is a complex evolution of microscopic damage phenomena. Beyond the use of classical testing methods, the ability to monitor the progression of damage insitu offers new ways to interpret the materials failure modes. Methods covered include digital image correlation, acoustic emission, electromagnetic emission, computed tomography, thermography, shearography, and promising method combinations. For each method, the discussion includes operational principles and practical applications for quality control as well as thoughtful assessment of the method's strengths and weakness so that the reader is equipped to decide which method or methods are most appropriate in a given situation. The book includes extensive appendices covering common experimental parameters influencing comparability of acoustic emission measurements; materials properties for modeling; and an overview of terms and abbreviations.

The integrated and advanced science research topic Man-Machine-Environment system engineering (MMESE) was first established in China by Professor Shengzhao Long in 1981, with direct support from one of the greatest modern Chinese scientists, Xuesen Qian. In a letter to Shengzhao Long from October 22nd, 1993, Xuesen Qian wrote: You have created a very important modern science and technology in China
MMESE primarily focuses on the relationship between man, machines and the environment, studying the optimum combination of man-machine-environment systems. In this system, man refers to people in the workplace (e.g. operators, decision-makers); machine is the general name for any object controlled by man (including tools, machinery, computers, systems and technologies), and environment describes the specific working conditions under which man and machine interact (e.g. temperature, noise, vibration, hazardous gases etc.). The three goals of optimization of Man-Machine-Environment systems are to ensure safety, efficiency and economy.
"Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Man-Machine-Environment System Engineering" are an academic showcase of the best papers selected from more than 400 submissions, introducing readers to the top research topics and the latest developmental trends in the theory and application of MMESE.
These proceedings are interdisciplinary studies on the concepts and methods of physiology, psychology, system engineering, computer science, environment science, management, education, and other related disciplines. Researchers and professionals working in these interdisciplinary fields and researchers on MMESE related topics will benefit from these proceedings."

In building reliability into a system, engineers must address a number of practical needs that will enable them to quantify and compare reliability in engineered systems. (1) One is to be able to compare the reliability of one system to another system. (2) Another practical need is to compare alternate system designs for the purpose of engineering a particular optimal system. The practical, standardized, technical tool for characterizing reliability in systems is system signatures which was created in 1985 and since has developed into a powerful tool for qualifying reliability. It is used in all physical structures and stochastic systems where reliability is an important consideration (e.g., automobiles, bridges, electronic networks, airplanes, etc.)

Since the introduction of system signatures in Francisco Samaniegoa (TM)s 1985 paper, the properties of this technical concept have been examined, tested and proven in a wide variety of systems applications. Based on the practical and research success in building reliability into systems with system signatures, this is the first book treatment of the approach. It is, therefore, the purpose of this book to provide guidance on how reliability problems might be structured, modeled and solved. Over the past ten years the broad applicability of system signatures has become apparent and the toola (TM)s utility in coherent systems and communications networks firmly established. The book compared actual system lifetimes where the tool has been and has not been used. These comparisonsa "which have been done over the yearsa "demonstrate the practical, feasible and fruitful use of the tool in building reliable systems. Finally, new resultsand future directions for system signatures are also explored.

This book reports on an outstanding research devoted to modeling and control of dynamic systems using fractional-order calculus. It describes the development of model-based control design methods for systems described by fractional dynamic models. More than 300 years had passed since Newton and Leibniz developed a set of mathematical tools we now know as calculus. Ever since then the idea of non-integer derivatives and integrals, universally referred to as fractional calculus, has been of interest to many researchers. However, due to various issues, the usage of fractional-order models in real-life applications was limited. Advances in modern computer science made it possible to apply efficient numerical methods to the computation of fractional derivatives and integrals. This book describes novel methods developed by the author for fractional modeling and control, together with their successful application in real-world process control scenarios.