This book addresses an important, but so far neglected, topic: the application of sensory evaluation to quality control. Although several articles have been pub lished that have discussed concepts of quality control/sensory evaluation (QC/sen sory) programs, Sensory Evaluation in Quality Control is the first publication that addresses this topic in a comprehensive and practical way. This book is com prehensive, in that it presents the sensory and statistical information that is needed to design and implement several types of QCfsensory programs at the plant level. The book is practical, in that it provides a step-by-step description of the complete process to implement such programs, and it illustrates this process through real examples encountered by various consumer products companies (e. g. , foods, personal care products, paper products). With this practical information, sensory and quality professionals can design and implement sound QC/sensory programs at the plant level. This book was developed to provide the sensory and quality professional with an overview and guide to apply, in a production facility, the unique techniques that are used to measure sensory responses. Therefore, the book is intended for QC and/or R&D personnel (e. g. , sensory managers and analysts, and quality profes sionals) in charge of implementing an in-plant program, as well as for the plant management and plant technical personnel (sensory coordinator and quality pro fessionals) who are ultimately responsible for the routine operation of the estab lished program.

Electrical grids are, in general, among the most reliable systems in the world. These large interconnected systems, however, are subject to a host of challenges - aging infrastructure, transmission expansion to meet growing demand, distributed resources, and congestion management, among others. Innovations in Power Systems Reliability aims to provide a vision for a comprehensive and systematic approach to meet the challenges of modern power systems. Innovations in Power Systems Reliability is focused on the emerging technologies and methodologies for the enhancement of electrical power systems reliability. It addresses many relevant topics in this area, ranging from methods for balancing resources to various reliability and security aspects. Innovations in Power Systems Reliability not only discusses technological breakthroughs and sets out roadmaps in implementing the technology, but it also informs the reader about current best practice. It is a valuable source of information for academic researchers, as well as those working in industrial research and development.

In many engineering design and optimisation problems, the presence of uncertainty in the data is a central and critical issue. Different fields of engineering use different ways to describe this uncertainty and adopt a variety of techniques to devise designs that are at least partly insensitive or robust to uncertainty.

Probabilistic and Randomized Methods for Design under Uncertainty examines uncertain systems in control engineering and general decision or optimisation problems for which data is not known exactly. Gathering contributions from the world s leading researchers in optimisation and robust control; this book highlights the interactions between these two fields, and focuses on new randomised and probabilistic techniques for solving design problems in the presence of uncertainty:

• Part I describes general theory and solution methodologies for probability-constrained and stochastic optimization problems, including chance-constrained optimisation, stochastic optimization and risk measures;
• Part II focuses on numerical methods for solving randomly perturbed convex programs and semi-infinite optimisation problems by probabilistic techniques such as constraint sampling and scenario-based optimisation;
• Part III details the theory and applications of randomised techniques to the analysis and design of robust control systems.

Probabilistic and Randomized Methods for Design under Uncertainty will be of interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in control engineering and operations research as well as professionals working in operations reasearch who are interested in decision-making, optimisation and stochastic modelling."

Engineering Decisions for Life Quality: How Safe is Safe Enough? provides a foundation and a theoretical basis for managing risk to an acceptable level under the real-world constraint of limited resources. The focus is not on risks as such, but on what can be done to maximize the positive outcomes of risk in terms of improvements to the quality of life. The principal focus of Engineering Decisions for Life Quality: How Safe is Safe Enough? is on the development of guidance for establishing rational standards of practice. Standards should meet the requirement of utilizing resources to achieve the maximum net overall benefit to society within society's capacity to commit such resources. The ideas discussed within this book will be of interest to engineers; advanced undergraduate and graduate students; public health officials; and risk specialists.

Ernst G. Frankel This book has its origin in lecture notes developed over several years for use in a course in Systems Reliability f r engineers concerned with the design of physical systems such as civil structures, power plants, and transport systems of all types. Increasing public concern with the reliability of systems for reasons of human safety, environmental protection, and acceptable investment risk limitations has resulted in an increasing interest by engineers in the formal application of reliability theory to engineering design. At the same time there is a demand for more effective approaches to the design of procedures for the operation and use of man made systems, more meaningful assessment of the risks introduced, and use such a system poses both when operating as designed and when operating at below design performance. The purpose of the book is to provide a sound, yet practical, introduction to reliability analysis and risk assessment which can be used by professionals in engineering, planning, management, and economics to improve the design, operation, and risk assessment of systems of interest. The text should be useful for students in many disciplines and is designed for fourth-year undergraduates or first-year graduate students. I would like to acknowledge the help of many of my graduate students who contributed to the development of this book by offering comments and criticism. Similarly, I would like to thank Mrs. Sheila McNary who typed untold drafts of the manuscript, and Mr."

This application-oriented professional book explains why components fail, addressing the needs of engineers who apply reliability principles in design, manufacture, testing and field service. A detailed index, a glossary, acronym lists, reliability dictionaries and a rich specific bibliography complete the book.

For the first time four crucial aspects of gastrointestinal endoscopy are combined in a single text. Drugs for sedation and monitoring of the patient are addressed with particular reference to safety issues and comfort and acceptability for the patient. Resource management and health economic techniques are applied to endoscopy to determine quality and outcome. Problems of negligence and informed consent form the basis of a medico-legal examination of endoscopic practices.

The theory of stochastic processes, for science and engineering, can be considered as an extension of probability theory allowing modeling of the evolution of systems over time. The modern theory of Markov processes has its origins in the studies of A.A. Markov (1856-1922) on sequences of experiments connected in a chain and in the attempts to describe mathematically the physical phenomenon Brownian motion. The theory of stochastic processes entered in a period of intensive development when the idea of Markov property was brought in. This book is a modern overall view of semi-Markov processes and its applications in reliability. It is accessible to readers with a first course in Probability theory (including the basic notions of Markov chain). The text contains many examples which aid in the understanding of the theoretical notions and shows how to apply them to concrete physical situations including algorithmic simulations. Many examples of the concrete applications in reliability are given.Features: * Processes associated to semi-Markov kernel for general and discrete state spaces * Asymptotic theory of processes and of additive functionals * Statistical estimation of semi-Markov kernel and of reliability function * Monte Carlo simulation * Applications in reliability and maintenance The book is a valuable resource for understanding the latest developments in Semi-Markov Processes and reliability. Practitioners, researchers and professionals in applied mathematics, control and engineering who work in areas of reliability, lifetime data analysis, statistics, probability, and engineering will find this book an up-to-date overview of the field.

Optimization in Quality Control presents a broad survey of the state of the art in optimization in quality, and focuses on industrial and national competitiveness. Each chapter has been carefully developed and refereed anonymously by experts in the area of optimization in quality control. Some of the topics covered in this volume include: * fundamentals of optimization techniques * contemporary approaches to optimization models in process control * economic design of control charts * determining optimal target values in multiple criteria economic selection models * examining quality improvement schemes by trading off between expected warranty servicing costs and increasing manufacturing costs * designing optimal inspection plans. This book will serve as an important reference source for academics, professionals and researchers.

Modern product development means problem solving by teams in complex working environments. Thereby, the design process is influenced by factors from various fields, the task, the individual, the team, and the organisational context. This complex network of influences turns product development into a challenge with requirements for the designers aside from technical problems. This book contains the proceedings of the international symposium Designers - The Key to Successful Product Development held in Darmstadt, Germany, December 1997. During this meeting exponents from different leading research groups in engineering design came together to present and discuss their results. Within this volume different aims, issues and methods of design research are addressed in 23 contributions by different research groups. Structured in six sections according to the main fields of influence, it provides a survey of the state of scientifically-based knowledge and the trends of engineering design research on the influences leading to successful product development.

The series Advances in Industrial Control aims to report and encourage technology transfer in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology impacts all areas of the control discipline. New theory, new controllers, actuators, sensors, new industrial processes, computer methods, new applications, new philosophies ... , new challenges. Much of this development work resides in industrial reports, feasibility study papers and the reports of advanced collaborative projects. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of such new work in all aspects of industrial control for wider and rapid dissemination. The steel industry world-wide is highly competitive and there is significant research in progress to ensure competitive success prevails in the various companies. From an engineering viewpoint, this means the use of increasingly sophisticated techniques and state-of-the-art theory to optimise process throughput and deliver ever more exacting dimensional and material property specifications. Dr. Bjoem Sohlberg's monograph demonstrates this interplay between fundamental control engineering science and the demands of a particular applications project in the steel strip production business. It is an excellent piece of work which clearly shows how these industrial engineering challenges can be formulated and solved.

Fatigue and Fracture Reliability Engineering is an attempt to present an integrated and unified approach to reliability determination of fatigue and fracture behaviour, incorporating probability, statistics and other related areas. A series of original and practical approaches, are suggested in Fatigue and Fracture Reliability Engineering, including new techniques in determining fatigue and fracture performances. It also carries out an investigation into static and fatigue properties, and into the failure mechanisms of unnotched and notched CFR composite laminates with different lay-ups to optimize the stacking sequence effect. Further benefits include: a novel convergence-divergence counting procedure to extract all load cycles from a load history of divergence-convergence waves; practical scatter factor formulae to determine the safe fatigue crack initiation and propagation lives from the results of a single full-scale test of a complete structure; and a nonlinear differential kinetic model for describing the dynamical behaviour of an atom at a fatigue crack tip. Fatigue and Fracture Reliability Engineering is intended for practising engineers in marine, civil construction, aerospace, offshore, automotive and chemical industries. It is also useful reading for researchers on doctoral programmes, and is appropriate for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in any mechanically-oriented engineering discipline.

This book contains contributions from various authors on different important topics related with probabilistic methods used for the design of structures. Initially several of the papers were prepared for advanced courses on structural reliability or on probabilistic methods for structural design. These courses have been held in different countries and have been given by different groups of lecturers. They were aimed at engineers and researchers who already had some exposure to structural reliability methods and thus they presented overviews of the work in the various topics. The book includes a selection of those contributions, which can be of support for future courses or for engineers and researchers that want to have an update on specific topics. It is considered a complement to the existing textbooks on structural reliability, which normally ensure the coverage of the basic topics but then are not extensive enough to cover some more specialised aspects. In addition to the contributions drawn from those lectures there are several papers that have been prepared specifically for this book, aiming at complementing the others in providing an overall account of the recent advances in the field. It is with sadness that in the meanwhile we have seen the disappearance of two of the contributors to the book and, in fact two of the early contributors to this field.

This NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Disposal of Weapons Plutonium is a follow-up event to two preceding workshops, each dealing with a special subject within the overall disarmament issue: "Disposition of Weapon Plutonium," sponsored by the NATO Science Committee. The first workshop of this series was held at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London on 24-25 January 1994, entitled "Managing the Plutonium Surplus, Applications, and Options." Its over all goal was to clarify the current situation with respect to pluto nium characteristics and availability, the technical options for use or disposal, and their main technical, environmental, and economic constraints. In the immediate term, plutonium recovered from dismantled nuclear warheads will have to be stored securely, and under international safeguards if possible. In the intermediate term, the principal alter natives for disposition of this plutonium are: irradiation in mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies in existing commercial light-water reac tors or in specially adapted light-water reactors capable of operation with full cores of MOX fuel .and irradiation in future fast reactors. Another option is to blend plutonium with high-level waste as it is vitrified for final disposal in a geologic repository. In both cases, the high radioactivity of the resulting products provides "self shielding" and prevents separation of plutonium without already developed and available sophisticated technology. The so-called "spent fuel standard" as an effective protection barrier is - quired in either case."

The motivation for this monograph can be traced to a seminar on Simple Games given by Professor S.H. Tijs of the Catholic University at Nijmegen way back in 1981 or 1982 at the Delhi campus of the Indian Statistical Institute. As an ap plied statistician and a consultant in quality control, I was naturally interested in Reliability Theory. I was aquainted with topics in reliability like coherent systems, importance of components etc., mainly through Barlow and Proschan's book. At the seminar given by Professor Tijs, I noticed the striking similarity between the concepts in reliability and simple games and this kindled my interest in simple games. When I started going deep into the literature of simple games, I noticed that a number of concepts as well as results which were well known in game theory were rediscovered much later by researchers in reliability. Though the conceptual equivalence of coherent structures and simple games has been noticed quite early, it is not that much well known. In fact, the theoretical developments have taken place practically independent of each other, with considerable duplication of research effort. The basic objective of this monograph is to unify some of the concepts and developments in reliability and simple games so as to avoid further duplication."

Human error plays a significant role in many accidents involving safety-critical systems, and it is now a standard requirement in both the US and Europe for Human Factors (HF) to be taken into account in system design and safety assessment. This book will be an essential guide for anyone who uses HF in their everyday work, providing them with consistent and ready-to-use procedures and methods that can be applied to real-life problems. The first part of the book looks at the theoretical framework, methods and techniques that the engineer or safety analyst needs to use when working on a HF-related project. The second part presents four case studies that show the reader how the above framework and guidelines work in practice. The case studies are based on real-life projects carried out by the author for a major European railway system, and in collaboration with international companies such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation, Volvo, Daimler-Chrysler and FIAT.

This 2-volume work represents the proceedings of the First European Workshop on Fault Diagnostics, Reliability and Re- lated Knowledge-Based Approaches held in the Island of Rho- des, Greece (August 3l-September 3, 1986). This Workshop was organized in the framework of a joint research project spon- sored by the Commission of the European Communi ties under the Stimulation Action Programme. The principal aim of the Workshop was to bring together people working on the numeric and symbolic (knowledge-based) treatment of reliability and fault diagnosis problems, in order to promote the interaction and exhange of ideas, expe- riences and results in this area. The workshop was a real success, with SS papers presen- ted and 70 participants. A second Workshop of the same na- ture has been decided to be held in Manchester (UMIST), - gland, in April 1987. . The two volumes contain sufficient amount of informa- tion which reflects very well the state-of-the-art of the field, and shows the current tendency towards knowledge-ba- sed (expert systems) and fault-tolerant approaches. Volume 1 contains the contributions on fault diagnostics and reliability issues (numeric treatment), and Vo*lume 2 the contributions on knowledge~based and fault-tolerant techni- ques. We are grateful to the Commission of the European Com- munities for having sponsored the Workshop, and to all au- thors for their high quality contributions and presenta- tions.

Mine Safety combines detailed information on safety in mining with methods and mathematics that can be used to preserve human life.

By compiling various recent research results and data into one volume, Mine Safety eliminates the need to consult many diverse sources in order to obtain vital information. Chapters cover a broad range of topics, including: human factors and error in mine safety, mining equipment safety, safety in offshore industry and programmable electronic mining system safety.

They are written in such a manner that the reader requires no previous knowledge to understand their contents. Examples and solutions are given at appropriate places, and there are numerous problems to test the reader's comprehension.

Mine Safety will prove useful for many individuals, including engineering and safety professionals working in the mining industry, researchers, instructors, and undergraduate and graduate students in the field of mining engineering.

This book presents thirty-one extensive and carefully edited chapters providing an up-to-date survey of new models and methods for reliability analysis and applications in science, engineering, and technology. The chapters contain broad coverage of the latest developments and innovative techniques in a wide range of theoretical and numerical issues in the field of statistical and probabilistic methods in reliability.

Fatigue and wear are the most damaging phenomena affecting machines since they result in some 90% of breakdowns. This tutorial book systematically develops a unified overview, named tribo-fatigue, which aims to address the complex wear-fatigue damages. Tribo-fatigue synthesizes aspects of three disciplines: mechanical fatigue, tribology, and reliability of mechanical systems.

Tribo-fatigue opens new perspectives for increasing the durability of machines according to the most important criteria of their serviceability. Detailed damage measurement and wear-fatigue tests that enable engineers to design more durable and reliable systems are developed. The book is intended for advanced students, researchers and engineers.

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.

Improving the quality of products and manufacturing processes at low cost is an economic and technological challenge to industrial engineers and managers alike. In today's business world, the implementation of experimental design techniques often falls short of the mark due to a lack of statistical knowledge on the part of engineers and managers in their analyses of manufacturing process quality problems. This timely book aims to fill this gap in the statistical knowledge required by engineers to solve manufacturing quality problems by using Taguchi experimental design methodology. The book increases awareness of strategic methodology through real-life case studies, providing valuable information for both academics and professionals with no prior knowledge of the theory of probability and statistics. Experimental Quality: Provides a unique framework to help engineers and managers address quality problems and use strategic design methodology. Offers detailed case studies illustrating the implementation of experimental design theory. Is easily accessible without prior knowledge or understanding of probability and statistics. This book provides an excellent resource for both academic and industrial environments, and will prove invaluable to practising industrial engineers, quality engineers and engineering managers from all disciplines.

A survey of recent developments in the field of plutonium disposal by the application of advanced nuclear systems, both critical and subcritical. Current national R&D plans are summarized. The actinide-fuelled critical reactors are associated with control problems, since they tend to have a small delayed neutron fraction coupled with a small Doppler effect and a positive void coefficient. Current thinking is turning to accelerator-driven subcritical systems for the transmutation of actinides. The book's conclusion is that the various systems proposed are technically feasible, even though not yet technically mature. The book presents a unique summary and evaluation of all relevant possibilities for burning surplus plutonium, presented by experts from a variety of different disciplines and interests, including the defence establishment. The obvious issue - the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons - is vital, but the matter represents a complex technological challenge that also requires an assessment in economic terms.

Consideration was given to more advanced theoretical approaches and novel applications of reliability to ensure that topics having a futuristic impact were specifically included. The entries have been categorized into seven parts, each emphasizing a theme that seems poised for the future development of reliability as an academic discipline with relevance. The topics, when linked with utility theory, constitute the science base of risk analysis.