Development Of A Probability Based Load Criterion For American National Standard A58

Introduction and research approach -- Findings -- Interpretation, appraisal, and applications -- Conclusions and suggested research -- Bibliography -- Appendixes.

Established by Congress in 1901, the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), now the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has a long and distinguished history as the custodian and disseminator of the United States' standards of physical measurement. Having reached its centennial anniversary, the NBS/NIST reflects on and celebrates its first century with this book describing some of its seminal contributions to science and technology. Within these pages are 102 vignettes that describe some of the Institute's classic publications. Each vignette relates the context in which the publication appeared, its impact on science, technology, and the general public, and brief details about the lives and work of the authors. The groundbreaking works depicted include: A breakthrough paper on laser-cooling of atoms below the Doppler limit, which led to the award of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics to William D. Phillips The official report on the development of the radio proximity fuse, one of the most important new weapons of World War II The 1932 paper reporting the discovery of deuterium in experiments that led to Harold Urey's1934 Nobel Prize for Chemistry A review of the development of the SEAC, the first digital computer to employ stored programs and the first to process images in digital form The first paper demonstrating that parity is not conserved in nuclear physics, a result that shattered a fundamental concept of theoretical physics and led to a Nobel Prize for T. D. Lee and C. Y. Yang "Observation of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Dilute Atomic Vapor," a 1995 paper that has already opened vast new areas of research A landmark contribution to the field of protein crystallography by Wlodawer and coworkers on the use of joint x-ray and neutron diffraction to determine the structure of proteins

The Arabian Gulf oil and gas production reserves have made it one of the world's strategic producers since the early 1960s, with many of the existing platforms stretched beyond their original design life. Advances in drilling technology and reservoir assessments have extended the requirement for the service life of those existing platforms even further. Extension of the life span of an existing platform requires satisfactory reassessment of its various structural components, including piled foundations. The American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 2A (API RP2A) is commonly used in the Arabian Gulf for reassessment of existing platforms. The API guidelines have been developed for conditions in the Gulf of Mexico, the waters off Alaska and the Pacific and Atlantic seaboards of the USA. However, the Arabian Gulf conditions are fundamentally different to those encountered in US waters. Hence, there is a need to develop guidelines for reassessment of existing offshore structures to account for the specific conditions of the Arabian Gulf. This thesis performs statistical analyses on databases collected during this research from existing platforms to calibrate relevant load and resistance factors for the required guidelines. The developed guidelines are based on established approaches used in developing international codes and standards such as API RP2A-LRFD. The outcome of this research revolves around the following three main issues: 1. Calibration of resistance factors for axial capacity of piles driven in the carbonate soils 2. Development of open area live loads (OALL) on offshore platforms 3. Effect of extreme storm conditions on the reliability of existing platforms in the Arabian Gulf The outcomes of this research are expected to have a profound influence onreassessment of existing platforms in the Arabian Gulf.

An understanding of dynamic effects on structures is critical to minimize losses from earthquakes and other hazards. These three books provide an overview of essential topics in structural and geotechnical engineering with an additional focus on related topics in earthquake engineering to enable readers gain such an understanding. One of the ultimate objectives of these books is to provide readers with insights into seismic analysis and design. However, in order to accomplish that objective, background material on structural and geotechnical engineering is necessary. Hence the first two sections of the book provide this background material followed by selected topics in earthquake engineering. The material is organized into three major parts. The first section covers topics in structural engineering. Beginning with fundamental mechanics of materials, the book includes chapters on linear and nonlinear analysis as well as topics on modeling of structures from different perspectives. In addition to traditional design of structural systems, introductions to important concepts in structural reliability and structural stability are discussed. Also covered are subjects of recent interest, viz., blast and impact effects on structures as well as the use of fiber reinforced polymer composites in structural applications. Given the growing interest in urban renewal, an interesting chapter on restoration of historic cities is also included. The second part of the book covers topics in geotechnical engineering, covering both shallow and deep foundations and issues and procedures for geotechnical modeling. The final part of the book focuses on earthquake engineering with emphasis on both structures and foundations. Here again, the material covered includes both traditional seismic design and innovative seismic protection. And more importantly, concepts in modeling for seismic analysis are highlighted.