Construction Reliability


Book Description

This book provides answers to the following problems: how to identify the most probable critical failures; how to describe and use data-concerning materials that are either heterogeneous, time-variant, or space-variant; how to quantify the reliability and lifetime of a system; how to use feedback information to actualize reliability results; and how to optimize an inspection politic or a maintenance strategy. Numerous authors from public research centers and firms propose a synthesis of methods, both new and well-known, and offer numerous examples concerning dams, geotechnical study, and structures from nuclear and civil engineering.




Cooperative Radio Communications for Green Smart Environments


Book Description

The demand for mobile connectivity is continuously increasing, and by 2020 Mobile and Wireless Communications will serve not only very dense populations of mobile phones and nomadic computers, but also the expected multiplicity of devices and sensors located in machines, vehicles, health systems and city infrastructures. Future Mobile Networks are then faced with many new scenarios and use cases, which will load the networks with different data traffic patterns, in new or shared spectrum bands, creating new specific requirements. This book addresses both the techniques to model, analyse and optimise the radio links and transmission systems in such scenarios, together with the most advanced radio access, resource management and mobile networking technologies. This text summarises the work performed by more than 500 researchers from more than 120 institutions in Europe, America and Asia, from both academia and industries, within the framework of the COST IC1004 Action on "Cooperative Radio Communications for Green and Smart Environments". The book will have appeal to graduates and researchers in the Radio Communications area, and also to engineers working in the Wireless industry. Topics discussed in this book include: Radio waves propagation phenomena in diverse urban, indoor, vehicular and body environmentsMeasurements, characterization, and modelling of radio channels beyond 4G networksKey issues in Vehicle (V2X) communicationWireless Body Area Networks, including specific Radio Channel Models for WBANs Energy efficiency and resource management enhancements in Radio Access NetworksDefinitions and models for the virtualised and cloud RAN architectures Advances on feasible indoor localization and tracking techniquesRecent findings and innovations in antenna systems for communicationsPhysical Layer Network Coding for next generation wireless systems Methods and techniques for MIMO Over the Air (OTA) testing




Reliability-Based Design in Geotechnical Engineering


Book Description

Reliability-based design is the only engineering methodology currently available which can ensure self-consistency in both physical and probabilistic terms. It is also uniquely compatible with the theoretical basis underlying other disciplines such as structural design. It is especially relevant as geotechnical design becomes subject to incre




Computational Stochastic Mechanics


Book Description

Over a period of several years the field of probabilistic mechanics and com putational mechanics have progressed vigorously, but independently. With the advent of powerful computational hardware and the development of novel mechanical techniques, the field of stochastic mechanics has progressed in such a manner that the inherent uncertainty of quite complicated systems can be addressed. The first International Conference on Computational Stochastic Mechanics was convened in Corfu in September 1991 in an ef fort to provide a forum for the exchanging of ideas on the current status of computational methods as applied to stochastic mechanics and for identi fying needs for further research. The Conference covered both theoretical techniques and practical applications. The Conference also celebrated the 60th anniversary of the birthday of Dr. Masanobu Shinozuka, the Sollenberger Professor of Civil Engineering at Princeton University, whose work has contributed in such a great measure to the development of Computational Stochastic Mechanics. A brief sum mary of his career and achievements are given in the Dedication. This book comprises some of the papers presented at the meeting and cov ers sections on Theoretical Reliability Analysis; Damage Analysis; Applied Reliability Analysis; Theoretical Random Vibrations; Stochastic Finite Ele ment Concept; Fatigue and Fracture; Monte Carlo Simulations; Earthquake Engineering Applications; Materials; Applied Random Vibrations; Applied Stochastic Finite Element Analysis, and Flow Related Applications and Chaotic Dynamics. The Editors hope that the book will be a valuable contribution to the grow ing literature covering the field of Computational Stochastic Mechanics.




Pervasive Mobile and Ambient Wireless Communications


Book Description

Reporting the findings of COST 2100, a major European intergovernmental project, this volume offers system designers a good source of guidelines based on channel characterization and measurement-based modeling, as well as worthwhile ideas for future research.




Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems


Book Description

This volume contains 28 papers by renowned international experts on the latest advances in structural reliability methods and applications, engineering risk analysis and decision making, new optimization techniques and various applications in civil engineering. Moreover, several contributions focus on the assessment and optimization of existing str




Profitability of Western European Banking Systems


Book Description

This paper analyses structural and cyclical determinants of banking profitability in 16 Western European countries. We find that financial structure matters, particularly through the beneficial effect of the capital market orientation in the respective national financial system. Furthermore, higher diversification regarding banks' income sources shows a positive effect. The industry concentration of national banking systems, though, does not significantly affect aggregate profitability. Business cycle effects, in particular lagged GDP growth, display a substantial procyclical impact on bank profits. These results are obtained in a single equation panel framework using the Hausman-Taylor instrument variable estimator. The data set comprises aggregate annual country data and banking group data (commercial banks, cooperative banks and savings banks) over the period 1979-2003.




Digitally Enhanced Mixed Signal Systems


Book Description

Digitally enhanced analog and mixed signal techniques are increasingly important to current and future circuit and system design. This book discusses how digital enhancement can be used to address key challenges relevant to analog components in terms of shrinking CMOS technology, increasing user demand for higher flexibility and data traffic in communications networks, and the drive to reduce power consumption.







The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets


Book Description

We estimate the effects of Wal-Mart stores on county-level retail employment and earnings, accounting for endogeneity of the location and timing of Wal-Mart openings that most likely biases the evidence against finding adverse effects of Wal-Mart stores. We address the endogeneity problem using a natural instrumental variables approach that arises from the geographic and time pattern of the opening of Wal-Mart stores, which slowly spread out from the first stores in Arkansas. The employment results indicate that a Wal-Mart store opening reduces county-level retail employment by about 150 workers, implying that each Wal-Mart worker replaces approximately 1.4 retail workers. This represents a 2.7 percent reduction in average retail employment. The payroll results indicate that Wal-Mart store openings lead to declines in county-level retail earnings of about $1.4 million, or 1.5 percent. Of course, these effects occurred against a backdrop of rising retail employment, and only imply lower retail employment growth than would have occurred absent the effects of Wal-Mart.