Research and industrial developments in the theoretical and practical aspects of safety and security engineering are the focus of this volume. This field, due to its special nature, is an interdisciplinary area of research and application that brings together, in a systematic way, many disciplines of engineering from the traditional to the most technologically advanced. The included papers, which were originally presented at the 13th Conference on Risk Analysis, Hazard Mitigation and Safety and Security Engineering, cover areas such as crisis management, security engineering, natural disasters and emergencies, terrorism, IT security, man-made hazards, pandemics, transportation security, protection and mitigation issues, among others. Also covered are various aspects of risk management and hazard mitigation, associated with both natural and anthropogenic hazards. Current events help to emphasise the importance of the analysis and management of risk to planners and researchers around the world. Natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, fires, epidemics, transportation, climate change, fake news and others have always affected human societies. The more recent emergence of the importance of man-made hazards is a consequence of the rapid technological advances made in the last few centuries. The interaction of natural and anthropogenic risks adds to the complexity of the problems.

Various aspects of the urban environment, with an emphasis on solutions leading towards sustainability, are the focus of the research contained in this volume. The included papers were presented at the 15th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability. The task of researchers is to improve the capacity to manage human activities, pursuing welfare and prosperity in the urban environment. Any investigation or planning in a city ought to consider the relationships between the parts and their connections with the living world. The dynamics of its networks (flows of energy-matter, people, goods, information and other resources) are fundamental for an understanding of the evolving nature of today’s cities. Coastal areas and coastal cities are an important area covered by this book, as they have some specific features. Their strategic location facilitates transportation and the development of related activities, but this requires the existence of large ports, with the corresponding increase in maritime and road traffic and all of the inherent negative effects, and can be directly affected by the rise in sea level. This requires the development of well-planned and managed urban environments, not only for reasons of efficiency and economics but also to avoid inflicting environmental degradation that causes the deterioration of natural resources, quality of life and human health. Urban agriculture and food sovereignty are crucial issues that are included due to their impact on city life. The scale of modern food production has created and exacerbated many vulnerabilities and the feeding of cities is now infinitely more complex. In recent years, there has been a rapid expansion in initiatives and projects exploring innovative methods and processes for sustainable food production. These projects are mainly focused on providing alternative models that shift the power back from the global food system to communities and farmers improving social cohesion, health and wellbeing. These initiatives have demonstrated that urban agriculture has the potential to transform our living environment towards ecologically sustainable and healthy cities.

Islamic architecture has enriched design with a wide variety of structural shapes, including among others, unique arches, a wide variety of vaults and domes which allow for new forms to be developed. This volume deals with the design of many types of buildings in Islamic countries, including not only the better known public buildings like mosques, mausolea, citadels and forts, but also houses and gardens, engineering works such as bridges and dams, irrigation systems and many others which have also had a profound impact on society. There is much to learn from past experiences to arrive at solutions that are environmentally sound and sustainable in the long term. As conventional energy resources become scarce, the Islamic design heritage can offer invaluable lessons on how to deal in an efficient manner with cases of hard and extreme environments. Traditional architecture and urban environments in most Islamic countries are now being eroded by overemphasis on a global type of architecture and city planning. As a consequence, many regions are losing their identity. The included research reviews these developments in the light of what the classical Islamic urban designs and architectures have to offer modern society. Equally as important is the analysis of the materials employed and the types of structural elements, particularly those unique to Islamic architecture. Associated topics considered are music, textiles and ceramics, which are essential parts of the architectural fabric. Also included are papers on construction materials, not only stone and brick but also more perishable materials like adobe, wood and reeds. Preserving this heritage also requires the development of appropriate conservation techniques in response to the different materials used and the ways structural forms work, including under extreme conditions, such as earthquakes. The influence of Islamic architecture on the development of new structural form, shape and design in Western countries is also a focus of the included studies.

Architecture is very multi-disciplinary, attracting many different professions. This is reflected in the contributions contained in this volume and that were originally presented at the 9th International Conference on Harmonisation between Architecture and Nature. The included works review the challenges and new opportunities of contemporary architecture as a result of advances in design and new building technologies, as well as the development of new materials. Many of the changes are motivated by a drive towards eco-architecture, trying to harmonise architectural products with nature. Another important issue is the adaptation of the architectural design to the natural environment, learning from nature and traditional construction techniques. Contemporary architecture is at the threshold of a new stage of evolution, deeply influenced by the advances in information and computer systems and the development of new materials and products, as well as construction processes that will drastically change the industry. Emphasis is placed on the minimum use of energy at each stage of the building process, the design by passive systems, life cycle assessment, resources optimisation and rehabilitation. Never before in history have architects and engineers had such a range of new processes and products open to them. In spite of that, the construction industry lags behind all others in taking advantage of a wide variety of new technologies. This is understandable, due to the inherent complexity and uniqueness of each architectural project. Advances in computer and information systems, including robotics, offers the possibility of developing new architectural forms, construction products and building technologies that are just now starting to emerge. Changes have also taken place in the way modern society works and lives, due to the impact of modern technologies. Patterns of work have been disrupted and changed, affecting transportation and the home environment. The demand is for a new type of habitat that can respond to the changes and the consequent requirements in terms of the urban environment. Such topics are dealt with as building technologies, design by passive systems, design with nature, cultural sensitivity, life cycle assessment, resources and rehabilitation and many others including case studies from many different places around the world.

The use of novel materials and new structural concepts nowadays is not restricted to highly technical areas like aerospace, aeronautical applications or the automotive industry, but affects all engineering fields including those such as civil engineering and architecture. The included contributions highlight the latest developments in design and manufacturing. Most high-performance structures require the development of a generation of new materials, which can more easily resist a range of external stimuli or react in a non-conventional manner. Particular emphasis is placed on intelligent structures and materials as well as the application of computational methods for their modelling, control and management. The book also addresses the topic of design optimisation. Contributions cover numerical methods, different optimisation techniques and new software. Optimisation problems include those related to the size, shape and topology of structures and materials. Optimisation techniques have much to offer to those involved in the design of new industrial products, as the appearance of powerful commercial computer codes has created a fertile field for the incorporation of optimisation in the design process of all engineering disciplines. The performance of structures under shock and impact loads is another area covered. The increasing need to protect civilian infrastructure and industrial facilities against unintentional loads arising from accidental impact and explosion events as well as terrorist attacks is reflected in the sustained interest worldwide. While advances have been made in recent decades, many challenges remain, such as developing more effective and efficient blast and impact mitigation approaches or assessing the uncertainties associated with large and small scale testing and validation of numerical and analytical models. The overall aim is to move towards a better understanding of the critical issues relating to the testing behaviour, modelling and analyses of protective structures against blast and impact loading. The studies contained in this volume were presented at the International Conference on High Performance and Optimum Structures and Materials Encompassing Shock and Impact Loading and address issues involving advanced types of structures, particularly those based on new concepts, and shock and impact resistance.

With the aim to facilitate the dissemination of research from both academia and the industrial community, presented works from the 10th International Conference on Computational Methods and Experiments in Material and Contact Characterisation are included in this book. These papers discuss the latest developments in this rapidly advancing field. The demand for high-quality production for both industry and consumers has led to rapid developments in materials science and engineering. This requires the characterisation of the properties of the materials. Of particular interest to industry and society is the knowledge of the surface treatment and contact mechanics of these materials to determine the in-service behaviour of components subject to contact conditions. Modern society requires systems that operate at conditions that use resources effectively. In terms of components durability, the understanding of surface engineering wear frictional and lubrication dynamics has never been so important. Current research is focussed on modifications technologies that can increase the surface durability of materials. The characteristics of the system reveal which surface engineering methods should be chosen and as a consequence, it is essential to study the combination of surface treatment and contact mechanics. Combinations of different experimental techniques as well as computer simulation methods are essential to achieve a proper analysis. A very wide range of materials, starting with metals through polymers and semiconductors to composites, necessitates a whole spectrum of characteristic experimental techniques and research methods. Topics covered include: Experimental and measurement techniques; Mechanical testing and characterisation; Composites; Characterisation at multiple scales; Corrosion and erosion; Damage, fatigue and fracture; Recycled and reclaimed materials; Emerging materials and processing technology; Materials for energy systems; Contact mechanics; Coatings and surface treatments; Tribology and design; Biomechanical characterisation and applications; Residual stresses; Polymers and plastics; Computational methods and simulation; Biological materials; Evaluation and material processing.

The field of fluid mechanics is vast and has numerous and diverse applications. Presented papers from the 11th International Conference on Advances in Fluid Dynamics with emphasis on Multiphase and Complex Flow are contained in this book and cover a wide range of topics, including basic formulations and their computer modelling as well as the relationship between experimental and analytical results. Innovation in fluid-structure approaches including emerging applications as energy harvesting systems, studies of turbulent flows at high Reynold number, or subsonic and hypersonic flows are also among the topics covered. The emphasis placed on multiphase flow in the included research works is due to the fact that fluid dynamics processes in nature are predominantly multi-phased, i.e. involving more than one phase of a component such as liquid, gas or plasma. The range of related problems of interest is vast: astrophysics, biology, geophysics, atmospheric processes, and a large variety of engineering applications. Multiphase fluid dynamics are generating a great deal interest, leading to many notable advances in experimental, analytical, and numerical studies in this area. While progress is continuing in all three categories, advances in numerical solutions are likely the most conspicuous, owing to the continuing improvements in computer power and the software tools available to researchers. Progress in numerical methods has not only allowed for the solution of many practical problems but also helped to improve our understanding of the physics involved. Many unresolved issues are inherent in the very definition of multiphase flow, where it is necessary to consider coupled processes on multiple scales, as well as the interplay of a wide variety of relevant physical phenomena.