The revised edition of this book offers an expanded overview of the reliability design of mechanical systems and describes the reliability methodology, including a parametric accelerated life test (ALT) plan, a load analysis, a tailored series of parametric ALTs with action plans, and an evaluation of the final designs to ensure the design requirements are satisfied. It covers both the quantitative and qualitative approaches of the reliability design forming in the development process of mechanical products, with a focus on parametric ALT and illustrated via case studies. This new reliability methodology - parametric ALT should help mechanical and civil engineers to uncover design parameters improving product design and avoiding recalls. Updated chapters cover product recalls and assessment of their significance, modern definitions in reliability engineering, parametric accelerated life testing in mechanical systems, and extended case studies. For this revised edition, one new chapter has been introduced to reflect recent developments in analysis of fluid motion and mechanical vibration. Other chapters are expanded and updated to improve the explanation of topics including structures and load analysis, failure mechanics, design and reliability testing, and mechanical system failure. The broad scope gives the reader an overview of the state-of-the-art in the reliability design of mechanical systems and an indication of future directions and applications. It will serve as a solid introduction to the field for advanced students, and a valuable reference for those working in the development of mechanical systems and related areas.

This important new manual goes beyond the published NFPA standards on installation of standpipe systems to include the rules in the International Building Code, municipal fire codes, the National Fire Code of Canada, and information on inspection, testing, and maintenance of standpipe systems. Also covered are the interactions between standpipe and sprinkler systems, since these important fire protection systems are so frequently installed together. Illustrated with design examples and practical applications to reinforce the learning experience, this is the go-to reference for engineers, architects, design technicians, building inspectors, fire inspectors, and anyone that inspects, tests or maintains fire protection systems. Fire marshals and plan review authorities that have the responsibility for reviewing and accepting plans and hydraulic calculations for standpipe systems are also an important audience, as are firefighters who actually use standpipe systems. As a member of the committees responsible for some of these documents, Isman also covers the rules of these standards and codes as they are written, but also provides valuable insight as to the intent behind the rules. A noted author and lecturer, Professor Isman was an engineer with the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), is an elected Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), and currently Clinical Professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at University of Maryland.

This book presents intuitive explanations of the principles and applications of power system resiliency, as well as a number of straightforward and practical methods for the impact analysis of risk events on power system operations. It also describes the challenges of modelling, distribution networks, optimal scheduling, multi-stage planning, deliberate attacks, cyber-physical systems and SCADA-based smart grids, and how to overcome these challenges. Further, it highlights the resiliency issues using various methods, including strengthening the system against high impact events with low frequency and the fast recovery of the system properties. A large number of specialists have collaborated to provide innovative solutions and research in power systems resiliency. They discuss the fundamentals and contemporary materials of power systems resiliency, theoretical and practical issues, as well as current issues and methods for controlling the risk attacks and other threats to AC power systems. The book includes theoretical research, significant results, case studies, and practical implementation processes to offer insights into electric power and engineering and energy systems. Showing how systems should respond in case of malicious attacks, and helping readers to decide on the best approaches, this book is essential reading for electrical engineers, researchers and specialists. The book is also useful as a reference for undergraduate and graduate students studying the resiliency and reliability of power systems.

Recent Advances in Maintenance and Infrastructure Management is a collection of papers highlighting the state of the art in maintenance of large structures and management of infrastructures. The papers selected in this book are written by international experts from academia and industry, and were presented during the past three International Conference on Maintenance Management (MM Conferences) held from 2005 to 2007 and organized by CNIM (Italian National Committee for Maintenance). The selected papers are categorized into four thematic areas: 1. reliability and maintenance; 2. mathematical modeling and metrics for maintenance; 3. maintenance management and organization, and; 4. facilities management and contracting. The papers cover topics ranging from embedded sensors for diagnostics of structures to organizational issues related to effective maintenance planning. Recent Advances in Maintenance and Infrastructure Management provides readers with a snapshot of the latest developments in the tools and techniques used to conduct maintenance of complex infrastructures and systems. The book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in academia and industry involved in planning and deployment of maintenance operations. Additionally, this can serve as a reference text for advanced courses in operations management, and structural health monitoring.

Billions of dollars are being spent annually world-wide to develop reliable and good quality products and services. Global competition and other factors are forcing manufacturers and others to produce highly reliable and good quality products and services. This means that reliability and quality principles are now being applied across many diverse sectors of economy and each of these sectors (robotics, health care, power generation, the Internet, textile, food and software) has tailored reliability and quality principles, methods, and procedures to satisfy its specific need.

Reliability and quality professionals working in these areas need to know about each other's work activities because this may help them - directly or indirectly - to perform their tasks more effectively. Applied Reliability and Quality: Fundamentals, Methods and Procedures meets the need for a single volume that considers applied areas of both reliability and quality. Before now, there has not been one book that covers both applied reliability and quality; so to gain knowledge of each other's specialties, these people had to study various books, articles, or reports on each area.

As the first book of its kind, Applied Reliability and Quality: Fundamentals, Methods and Procedures will be useful to design engineers, manufacturing engineers, system engineers, engineering and manufacturing managers, reliability specialists, quality specialists, graduate and senior undergraduate students of engineering, researchers and instructors of reliability and quality, and professionals in areas such as health care, software, power generation, robotics, textile, food, and the Internet.

Understanding the fatigue behaviour of structural components under variable load amplitude is an essential prerequisite for safe and reliable light-weight design. For designing and dimensioning, the expected stress (load) is compared with the capacity to withstand loads (fatigue strength). In this process, the safety necessary for each particular application must be ensured. A prerequisite for ensuring the required fatigue strength is a reliable load assumption. The authors describe the transformation of the stress- and load-time functions which have been measured under operational conditions to spectra or matrices with the application of counting methods. The aspects which must be considered for ensuring a reliable load assumption for designing and dimensioning are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the theoretical background for estimating the fatigue life of structural components is explained, and the procedures are discussed for numerous applications in practice. One of the prime intentions of the authors is to provide recommendations which can be implemented in practical applications.

This book presents essential methods and tools for research into the reliability of energy systems. It describes in detail the content setting, formalisation, and use of algorithms for assessing the reliability of modern, large, and complex electric power systems. The book uses a wealth of tables and illustrations to represent results and source information in a clear manner. It discusses the main operating conditions which affect the reliability of electric power systems, and describes corresponding computing tools which can help solve issues as they arise. Further, all methodologies presented here are demonstrated in numerical examples. Though primarily intended for researchers and practitioners in the field of electric power systems, the book will also benefit general readers interested in this area.

This book guides readers through the broad field of generic and industry-specific management system standards, as well as through the arsenal of tools that are needed to effectively implement them. It covers a wide spectrum, from the classic standard ISO 9001 for quality management to standards for environmental safety, information security, energy efficiency, business continuity, laboratory management, etc. A dedicated chapter addresses international management standards for compliance, anti-bribery and social responsibility management. In turn, a major portion of the book focuses on relevant tools that students and practitioners need to be familiar with: 8D reports, acceptance sampling, failure tree analysis, FMEA, control charts, correlation analysis, designing experiments, estimating parameters and confidence intervals, event tree analysis, HAZOP, Ishikawa diagrams, Monte Carlo simulation, regression analysis, reliability theory, data sampling and surveys, testing hypotheses, and much more. An overview of the necessary mathematical concepts is also provided to help readers understand the technicalities of the tools discussed. A down-to-earth yet thorough approach is employed throughout the book to help practitioners and management students alike easily grasp the various topics.

Engineering Asset Management Review focuses on life cycle management of the physical assets required by a private or public firm for the purpose of making products and/or for providing services in a manner that satisfies various business performance rationales. In exploring the wide ranging issues involved in the management of engineered assets that constitute our built environment, this book takes a broad view of the inter- and multi-disciplinary approach which combines science, engineering, and technology principles with human behavior and business practice.

The purpose of Engineering Asset Management Review is to publish research and opinions which explore strategic and tactical issues, as well as technical data and information. It also examines the issues involved in the creation (formulation and design), acquisition (procurement, installation, and commissioning), maintenance, operation, decommissioning, disposal, and/or rehabilitation of physical assets. The range of articles covers all industry sectors and physical asset types (infrastructure, plant, equipment and facilities).

The aim of this volume is to provide a forum for

1. the assembly of a body of knowledge in the emerging field of engineering asset management;

2. knowledge transfer between researchers, scholars and practitioners;

3. cross-disciplinary interaction between engineers, technologists, economists, environmental practitioners, behavioral scientists, and business managers; and

4. the presentation of a wide spectrum of viewpoints and approaches from designers, developers, project managers, owners, operators, users, and vendors.

"Failure Rate Modeling for Reliability and Risk" focuses on reliability theory, and to the failure rate (hazard rate, force of mortality) modeling and its generalizations to systems operating in a random environment and to repairable systems. The failure rate is one of the crucial probabilistic characteristics for a number of disciplines; including reliability, survival analysis, risk analysis and demography. The book presents a systematic study of the failure rate and related indices, and covers a number of important applications where the failure rate plays the major role. Applications in engineering systems are studied, together with some actuarial, biological and demographic examples. The book provides a survey of this broad and interdisciplinary subject which will be invaluable to researchers and advanced students in reliability engineering and applied statistics, as well as to demographers, econometricians, actuaries and many other mathematically oriented researchers.

Reliability theory is of fundamental importance for engineers and managers involved in the manufacture of high-quality products and the design of reliable systems. In order to make sense of the theory, however, and to apply it to real systems, an understanding of the basic stochastic processes is indispensable. As well as providing readers with useful reliability studies and applications, Stochastic Processes also gives a basic treatment of such stochastic processes as: the Poisson process, the renewal process, the Markov chain, the Markov process, and the Markov renewal process. Many examples are cited from reliability models to show the reader how to apply stochastic processes. Furthermore, Stochastic Processes gives a simple introduction to other stochastic processes such as the cumulative process, the Wiener process, the Brownian motion and reliability applications. Stochastic Processes is suitable for use as a reliability textbook by advanced undergraduate and graduate students. It is also of interest to researchers, engineers and managers who study or practise reliability and maintenance.

This book presents the proceedings of the International Conference on Durability of Critical Infrastructure. Monitoring and Testing held in Satov, Czech Republic from 6 to 9 December 2016. It discusses the developments in the theoretical and practical aspects in the fields of Safety, Sustainability and Durability of the Critical Infrastructure. The contributions are dealing with monitoring and testing of structural and composite materials with a new methods for their using for protection and prevention of the selected objects.

This book is about the formulations, theoretical investigations, and practical applications of new stochastic models for fundamental concepts and operations of the discipline of risk management. It also examines how these models can be useful in the descriptions, measurements, evaluations, and treatments of risks threatening various modern organizations. Moreover, the book makes clear that such stochastic models constitute very strong analytical tools which substantially facilitate strategic thinking and strategic decision making in many significant areas of risk management. In particular the incorporation of fundamental probabilistic concepts such as the sum, minimum, and maximum of a random number of continuous, positive, independent, and identically distributed random variables in the mathematical structure of stochastic models significantly supports the suitability of these models in the developments, investigations, selections, and implementations of proactive and reactive risk management operations. The book makes extensive use of integral and differential equations of characteristic functions, mainly corresponding to important classes of mixtures of probability distributions, as powerful analytical tools for investigating the behavior of new stochastic models suitable for the descriptions and implementations of fundamental risk control and risk financing operations. These risk treatment operations very often arise in a wide variety of scientific disciplines of extreme practical importance.

This book focuses on the analysis and design of advanced techniques for on-line automatic computational monitoring of pipelines and pipe networks. It discusses how to improve the systems' security considering mathematical models of the flow, historical flow rate and pressure data, with the main goal of reducing the number of sensors installed along a pipeline. The techniques presented in the book have been implemented in digital systems to enhance the abilities of the pipeline network's operators in recognizing anomalies. A real leak scenario in a Mexican water pipeline is used to illustrate the benefits of these techniques in locating the position of a leak. Intended for an interdisciplinary audience, the book addresses researchers and professionals in the areas of mechanical, civil and control engineering. It covers topics on fluid mechanics, instrumentation, automatic control, signal processing, computing, construction and diagnostic technologies.

This book gathers contributions presented at the 9th Workshop on Cyclostationary Systems and Their Applications, held in Grodek nad Dunajcem, Poland in February 2016. It includes both theory-oriented and practice-oriented chapters. The former focus on heavy-tailed time series and processes, PAR models, rational spectra for PARMA processes, covariance invariant analysis, change point problems, and subsampling for time series, as well as the fraction-of-time approach, GARMA models and weak dependence. In turn, the latter report on case studies of various mechanical systems, and on stochastic and statistical methods, especially in the context of damage detection. The book provides students, researchers and professionals with a timely guide to cyclostationary systems, nonstationary processes and relevant engineering applications.

Quality control is a constant priority in electrical, mechanical, aeronautical, and nuclear engineering - as well as in the vast domain of electronics, from home appliances to computers and telecommunications. Quality Control Applications provides guidance and valuable insight into quality control policies; their methods, their implementation, constant observation and associated technical audits. What has previously been a mostly mathematical topic is translated here for engineers concerned with the practical implementation of quality control. Once the fundamentals of quality control are established, Quality Control Applications goes on to develop this knowledge and explain how to apply it in the most effective way. Techniques are described and supported using relevant, real-life, case studies to provide detail and clarity for those without a mathematical background. Among the many practical examples, two case studies dramatize the importance of quality assurance: A shot-by-shot analysis of the errors made in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster; and the engineering failure with new technology due to the absence of quality control in an alternative energy project. This clear and comprehensive approach makes Quality Control Applications an essential reference for those studying engineering as well industry professionals involved in quality control across product and system design.

Synthetic biology is becoming one of the most dynamic new fields of biology, with the potential to revolutionize the way we do biotechnology today. By applying the toolbox of engineering disciplines to biology, a whole set of potential applications become possible ranging very widely across scientific and engineering disciplines. Some of the potential benefits of synthetic biology, such as the development of low-cost drugs or the production of chemicals and energy by engineered bacteria are enormous. There are, however, also potential and perceived risks due to deliberate or accidental damage. Also, ethical issues of synthetic biology just start being explored, with hardly any ethicists specifically focusing on the area of synthetic biology. This book will be the first of its kind focusing particularly on the safety, security and ethical concerns and other relevant societal aspects of this new emerging field. The foreseen impact of this book will be to stimulate a debate on these societal issues at an early stage. Past experiences, especially in the field of GM-crops and stem cells, have shown the importance of an early societal debate. The community and informed stakeholders recognize this need, but up to now discussions are fragmentary. This book will be the first comprehensive overview on relevant societal issues of synthetic biology, setting the scene for further important discussions within the scientific community and with civil society.

Focusing on the theory and applications of point processes, Point Processes for Reliability Analysis naturally combines classical results on the basic and advanced properties of point processes with recent theoretical findings of the authors. It also presents numerous examples that illustrate how general results and approaches are applied to stochastic description of repairable systems and systems operating in a random environment modelled by shock processes. The real life objects are operating in a changing, random environment. One of the ways to model an impact of this environment is via the external shocks occurring in accordance with some stochastic point processes. The Poisson (homogeneous and nonhomogeneous) process, the renewal process and their generalizations are considered as models for external shocks affecting an operating system. At the same time these processes model the consecutive failure/repair times of repairable engineering systems. Perfect, minimal and intermediate (imperfect) repairs are discussed in this respect. Covering material previously available only in the journal literature, Point Processes for Reliability Analysis provides a survey of recent developments in this area which will be invaluable to researchers and advanced students in reliability engineering and applied mathematics.

The book is a selection of invited chapters, all of which deal with various aspects of mathematical and statistical models and methods in reliability. Written by renowned experts in the field of reliability, the contributions cover a wide range of applications, reflecting recent developments in areas such as survival analysis, aging, lifetime data analysis, artificial intelligence, medicine, carcinogenesis studies, nuclear power, financial modeling, aircraft engineering, quality control, and transportation.

"Mathematical and Statistical Models and Methods in Reliability" is an excellent reference text for researchers and practitioners in applied probability and statistics, industrial statistics, engineering, medicine, finance, transportation, the oil and gas industry, and artificial intelligence.

In continuation of the FRINGE Workshop Series this Proceeding contains all contributions presented at the 7. International Workshop on Advanced Optical Imaging and Metrology. The FRINGE Workshop Series is dedicated to the presentation, discussion and dissemination of recent results in Optical Imaging and Metrology. Topics of particular interest for the 7. Workshop are: - New methods and tools for the generation, acquisition, processing, and evaluation of data in Optical Imaging and Metrology (digital wavefront engineering, computational imaging, model-based reconstruction, compressed sensing, inverse problems solution) - Application-driven technologies in Optical Imaging and Metrology (high-resolution, adaptive, active, robust, reliable, flexible, in-line, real-time) - High-dynamic range solutions in Optical Imaging and Metrology (from macro to nano) - Hybrid technologies in Optical Imaging and Metrology (hybrid optics, sensor and data fusion, model-based solutions, multimodality) - New optical sensors, imaging and measurement systems (integrated, miniaturized, in-line, real-time, traceable, remote) Special emphasis is put on new strategies, taking into account the active combination of physical modeling, computer aided simulation and experimental data acquisition. In particular attention is directed towards new approaches for the extension of existing resolution limits that open the gates to wide-scale metrology, ranging from macro to nano, by considering dynamic changes and using advanced optical imaging and sensor systems.

This book examines pedestrian shoe-floor slip resistance from an engineering standpoint in order to better understand friction and wear behavior. This analysis includes an extensive investigation into the surface properties of shoes and flow, and the measurement of dynamic friction and other mechanical and physical aspects of shoe-floor tribology. Lastly, the book proposes a measurement concept for the identification and classification of operational floor surfaces under a range of different conditions. Novel techniques and methods are proposed that can improve the reliability of slip resistance assessments. The current state of knowledge is critically examined and discussed from a tribological perspective, including aspects like friction, wear, lubrication and the mechanical behavior of shoes, floors and their wider environment. Further, the book reports on extensive experimental investigations into the topographical characteristics of shoe and floor surfaces and how they affect slip resistance. Slips resulting in pedestrian falls are a major cause of injuries and deaths for all age groups. This important book provides essential insights for researchers, practicing engineers and public safety officials wishing to learn about how the risk of pedestrian slips can be assessed and understood.

Today's society is completely dependent on critical networks such as water supply, sewage, electricity, ICT and transportation. Risk and vulnerability analyses are needed to grasp the impact of threats and hazards. However, these become quite complex as there are strong interdependencies both within and between infrastructure systems. Risk and Interdependencies in Critical Infrastructures: A guideline for analysis provides methods for analyzing risks and interdependencies of critical infrastructures. A number of analysis approaches are described and are adapted to each of these infrastructures. Various approaches are also revised, and all are supported by several examples and illustrations. Particular emphasis is given to the analysis of various interdependencies that often exist between the infrastructures. Risk and Interdependencies in Critical Infrastructures: A guideline for analysis provides a good tool to identify the hazards that are threatening your infrastructures, and will enhance the understanding on how these threats can propagate throughout the system and also affect other infrastructures, thereby identifying useful risk reducing measures. It is essential reading for municipalities and infrastructure owners that are obliged to know about and prepare for the risks and vulnerabilities of the critical infrastructures for which they are responsible.

Supervision, condition-monitoring, fault detection, fault diagnosis and fault management play an increasing role for technical processes and vehicles in order to improve reliability, availability, maintenance and lifetime. For safety-related processes fault-tolerant systems with redundancy are required in order to reach comprehensive system integrity.

This book is a sequel of the book Fault-Diagnosis Systems published in 2006, where the basic methods were described. After a short introduction into fault-detection and fault-diagnosis methods the book shows how these methods can be applied for a selection of 20 real technical components and processes as examples, such as:

Electrical drives (DC, AC)

Electrical actuators

Fluidic actuators (hydraulic, pneumatic)

Centrifugal and reciprocating pumps

Pipelines (leak detection)

Industrial robots

Machine tools (main and feed drive, drilling, milling, grinding)

Heat exchangers

Also realized fault-tolerant systems for electrical drives, actuators and sensors are presented.

The book describes why and how the various signal-model-based and process-model-based methods were applied and which experimental results could be achieved. In several cases a combination of different methods was most successful.

The book is dedicated to graduate students of electrical, mechanical, chemical engineering and computer science and for engineers.

The book summarizes the main results of the the project ENABLE-S3 covering the following aspects: validation and verification technology bricks (collection and selection of test scenarios, test executions envionments incl. respective models, assessment of test results), evaluation of technology bricks in selected use cases and standardization and related initiatives. ENABLE-S3 is an industry-driven EU-project and aspires to substitute todays' cost-intensive verification and validation efforts by more advanced and efficient methods. In addition, the book includes articles about complementary international activities in order to highlight the global importance of the topic and to cover the wide range of aspects that needs to be covered at a global scale.

Non destructive testing aimed at monitoring, structural identification and di- nostics is of strategic importance in many branches of civil and mechanical - gineering. This type of tests is widely practiced and directly affects topical issues regarding the design of new buildings and the repair and monitoring of existing ones. The load bearing capacity of a structure can now be evaluated using well established mechanical modelling methods aided by computing facilities of great capability. However, to ensure reliable results, models must be calibrated with - curate information on the characteristics of materials and structural components. To this end, non destructive techniques are a useful tool from several points of view. Particularly, by measuring structural response, they provide guidance on the validation of structural descriptions or of the mathematical models of material behaviour. Diagnostic engineering is a crucial area for the application of non destructive testing methods. Repeated tests over time can indicate the emergence of p- sible damage occurring during the structure's lifetime and provide quantitative estimates of the level of residual safety.