Condition Assessment Of Aged Structures

Any structural system in service is subject to age-related deterioration, leading to potential concerns regarding maintenance, health & safety, environmental and economic implications. Condition assessment of aged structures is an invaluable, single source of information on structural assessment techniques for marine and land-based structures such as ships, offshore installations, industrial plant and buildings. Topics covered include: - Current practices and standards for structural condition assessment - Fundamental mechanisms and advanced mathematical methods for predicting structural deterioration - Residual strength assessment of deteriorated structures - Inspection and maintenance of aged structures - Reliability and risk assessment of aged structures Professionals from a broad range of disciplines will be able to gain a better understanding of current practices and standards for structural condition assessment or health monitoring, and what future trends might be. Single source of information on structural assessment techniques for marine and land-based structures Examines the residual strength and reliability of aged structures Assesses current practices covering inspection, health monitoring and maintenance

In Structural Condition Assessment, editor-in-chief Robert T. Ratay gathers together the leading people in the field to produce the first unified resource on all aspects of structural condition assessment for strength, serviceability, restoration, adaptive reuse, code compliance, and vulnerability. Organized by the four main stages of a structural evaluation, this book provides an introduction to structural deterioration and its consequences, the business and legal aspects of conducting an evaluation, initial survey and evaluation techniques for various structures, and specific tests for five of the most common structural materials (concrete, steel, masonry, timber and fabric.)

This book describes principles, industry practices and evolutionary methodologies for advanced safety studies, which are helpful in effectively managing volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments within the framework of quantitative risk assessment and management and associated with the safety and resilience of structures and infrastructures with tolerance against various types of extreme conditions and accidents such as fires, explosions, collisions and grounding. It presents advanced computational models for characterizing structural actions and their effects in extreme and accidental conditions, which are highly nonlinear and non-Gaussian in association with multiple physical processes, multiple scales, and multiple criteria. Probabilistic scenario selection practices and applications are presented. Engineering practices for structural crashworthiness analysis in extreme conditions and accidents are described. Multidisciplinary approaches involving advanced computational models and large-scale physical model testing are emphasized. The book will be useful to students at a post-graduate level as well as researchers and practicing engineers.

Forest trees cover 30% of the earth's land surface, providing renewable fuel, wood, timber, shelter, fruits, leaves, bark, roots, and are source of medicinal products in addition to benefits such as carbon sequestration, water shed protection, and habitat for 1/3 of terrestrial species. However, the genetic analysis and breeding of trees has lagged behind that of crop plants. Therefore, systematic conservation, sustainable improvement and pragmatic utilization of trees are global priorities. This book provides comprehensive and up to date information about tree characterization, biological understanding, and improvement through biotechnological and molecular tools.

Structural Reliability Analysis and Prediction, Third Edition is a textbook which addresses the important issue of predicting the safety of structures at the design stage and also the safety of existing, perhaps deteriorating structures. Attention is focused on the development and definition of limit states such as serviceability and ultimate strength, the definition of failure and the various models which might be used to describe strength and loading. This book emphasises concepts and applications, built up from basic principles and avoids undue mathematical rigour. It presents an accessible and unified account of the theory and techniques for the analysis of the reliability of engineering structures using probability theory. This new edition has been updated to cover new developments and applications and a new chapter is included which covers structural optimization in the context of reliability analysis. New examples and end of chapter problems are also now included.

Understanding and recognising failure mechanisms in concrete is a fundamental pre-requisite to determining the type of repair, or whether a repair is feasible. This title provides a review of concrete deterioration and damage, as well as looking at the problem of defects in concrete. It also discusses condition assessment and repair techniques. Part one discusses failure mechanisms in concrete and covers topics such as causes and mechanisms of deterioration in reinforced concrete, types of damage in concrete structures, types and causes of cracking and condition assessment of concrete structures. Part two reviews the repair of concrete structures with coverage of themes such as standards and guidelines for repairing concrete structures, methods of crack repair, repair materials, bonded concrete overlays, repairing and retrofitting concrete structures with fiber-reinforced polymers, patching deteriorated concrete structures and durability of repaired concrete. With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, Failure and repair of concrete structures is a standard reference for civil engineers, architects and anyone working in the construction sector, as well as those concerned with ensuring the safety of concrete structures. Provides a review of concrete deterioration and damage Discusses condition assessment and repair techniques, standards and guidelines

Changing economic conditions, concern for historic preservation, emphasis on fully utilizing conveniently located structures, space shortages, and increasing cost of materials and products used in the construction of new buildings, have resulted in a need to evaluate and more fully utilize the existing building inventory. To this end, this revision of the ASCE Standard Guideline for Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings (a replacement of ASCE 11-90) provides the design community with guidelines for assessing the structural conditions of existing buildings constructed of combinations of material including concrete, masonry, metals, and wood. It consists of an overview of preliminary and detailed assessment procedures, of materials properties and test methods, and of evaluation procedures for various physical conditions of the structure. This information has been compiled and subjected to a consensus review and approved by the ASCE Standards Committee on Structural Condition to provide a much needed resource standards on building condition assessment for selected materials, and for other areas related to the structural performance of buildings. Professional engineers, building owners, and regulatory officials will find this Standard Guideline invaluable.

Structural health monitoring is an extremely important methodology in evaluating the ‘health’ of a structure by assessing the level of deterioration and remaining service life of civil infrastructure systems. This book reviews key developments in research, technologies and applications in this area of civil engineering. It discusses ways of obtaining and analysing data, sensor technologies and methods of sensing changes in structural performance characteristics. It also discusses data transmission and the application of both individual technologies and entire systems to bridges and buildings. With its distinguished editors and international team of contributors, Structural health monitoring of civil infrastructure systems is a valuable reference for students in civil and structural engineering programs as well as those studying sensors, data analysis and transmission at universities. It will also be an important source for practicing civil engineers and designers, engineers and researchers developing sensors, network systems and methods of data transmission and analysis, policy makers, inspectors and those responsible for the safety and service life of civil infrastructure. Reviews key developments in research, technologies and applications Discusses systems used to obtain and analyse data and sensor technologies Assesses methods of sensing changes in structural performance