Practical Lessons from the Loma Prieta Earthquake


Book Description

The Loma Prieta earthquake struck the San Francisco area on October 17, 1989, causing 63 deaths and $10 billion worth of damage. This book reviews existing research on the Loma Prieta quake and draws from it practical lessons that could be applied to other earthquake-prone areas of the country. The volume contains seven keynote papers presented at a symposium on the earthquake and includes an overview written by the committee offering recommendations to improve seismic safety and earthquake awareness in parts of the country susceptible to earthquakes.




Improved Seismic Monitoring - Improved Decision-Making


Book Description

Improved Seismic Monitoringâ€"Improved Decision-Making, describes and assesses the varied economic benefits potentially derived from modernizing and expanding seismic monitoring activities in the United States. These benefits include more effective loss avoidance regulations and strategies, improved understanding of earthquake processes, better engineering design, more effective hazard mitigation strategies, and improved emergency response and recovery. The economic principles that must be applied to determine potential benefits are reviewed and the report concludes that although there is insufficient information available at present to fully quantify all the potential benefits, the annual dollar costs for improved seismic monitoring are in the tens of millions and the potential annual dollar benefits are in the hundreds of millions.







Maintenance, Monitoring, Safety, Risk and Resilience of Bridges and Bridge Networks


Book Description

Maintenance, Monitoring, Safety, Risk and Resilience of Bridges and Bridge Networks contains the lectures and papers presented at the Eighth International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS 2016), held in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil, 26-30 June, 2016. This volume consists of a book of extended abstracts and a DVD containing the full papers of 369 contributions presented at IABMAS 2016, including the T.Y. Lin Lecture, eight Keynote Lectures, and 360 technical papers from 38 countries. The contributions deal with the state-of-the-art as well as emerging concepts and innovative applications related to all main aspects of bridge maintenance, safety, management, resilience and sustainability. Major topics covered include: advanced materials, ageing of bridges, assessment and evaluation, bridge codes, bridge diagnostics, bridge management systems, composites, damage identification, design for durability, deterioration modeling, earthquake and accidental loadings, emerging technologies, fatigue, field testing, financial planning, health monitoring, high performance materials, inspection, life-cycle performance and cost, load models, maintenance strategies, non-destructive testing, optimization strategies, prediction of future traffic demands, rehabilitation, reliability and risk management, repair, replacement, residual service life, resilience, robustness, safety and serviceability, service life prediction, strengthening, structural integrity, and sustainability. This volume provides both an up-to-date overview of the field of bridge engineering as well as significant contributions to the process of making more rational decisions concerning bridge maintenance, safety, serviceability, resilience, sustainability, monitoring, risk-based management, and life-cycle performance using traditional and emerging technologies for the purpose of enhancing the welfare of society. It will serve as a valuable reference to all involved with bridge structure and infrastructure systems, including students, researchers and engineers from all areas of bridge engineering.










Seismology and Structure of the Earth


Book Description

Treatise on Geophysics: Seismology and Structure of the Earth, Volume 1, provides a comprehensive review of the state of knowledge on the Earths structure and earthquakes. It addresses various aspects of structural seismology and its applications to other fields of Earth sciences. The book is organized into four parts. The first part principally covers theoretical developments and seismic data analysis techniques from the end of the nineteenth century until the present, with the main emphasis on the development of instrumentation and its deployment. The second part reviews the status of knowledge on the structure of the Earths shallow layers, starting with a global review of the Earth's crustal structure. The third part focuses on the Earth's deep structure, divided into its main units: the upper mantle, the transition zone and upper-mantle discontinuities, the D region at the base of the mantle, and the Earth's core. The fourth part comprises two chapters which discuss constraints on Earth structure from fields other than seismology: mineral physics and geodynamics. - Self-contained volume starts with an overview of the subject then explores each topic with in depth detail - Extensive reference lists and cross references with other volumes to facilitate further research - Full-color figures and tables support the text and aid in understanding - Content suited for both the expert and non-expert




Failed Bridges


Book Description

Gilt immer noch, dass ein Bauwerkseinsturz der beste Lehrmeister für den Fortschritt des Bauens ist? Oder, anders formuliert: Ist Bauen dann, wenn wir das Bewährte verlassen und Neues wagen, "Experimentieren"? Über die Ursache von Schadensfällen und Einstürzen, die oft mit dem Verlust von Menschenleben verbunden sind, wird nicht gern öffentlich gesprochen. Aber aus Fehlern kann man lernen. Die Lehren und Erfahrungen aus den Schadensauswertungen führen zu mehr Sicherheit und oft zum Innovationsschub. Die Kenntnis der Schadensursachen ist Voraussetzung für ihre zukünftige Vermeidung. Mit diesem Buch liegt eine systematische Zusammenstellung von über 400 Versagensfällen vor, die in besonderer Weise betrachtet werden: Sie werden nach dem Zeitpunkt ihres Auftretens im Lebenszyklus der Brücke, z. B. im Bauzustand oder im Betrieb, und nach den Schadensereignissen, z. B. Anprall oder Erdbeben, geordnet. Die wichtigsten Ursachen sind: menschliches Versagen, mangelnde Aussteifung, Materialversagen oder Überlastung. Es werden vorwiegend Brückeneinstürze, die in der Literatur wenig oder nach dem Urteil des Verfassers nicht vollständig oder nicht zutreffend behandelt sind, ausführlich analysiert. Mit Akribie gesammelt, kompetent und exzellent aufgearbeitet und mit Mut präsentiert, ergibt dies eine unverzichtbare Erkenntnisquelle für jeden Bauingenieur in der Praxis und für das Studium. Ein Katalog von Regeln wurde erstellt. Seine Beachtung kann helfen, Fehler bei Entwurf, Planung und Ausführung zu vermeiden.