Reliability Analysis of Lunar Structures Under Meteoroid Impact
The United States is slowly moving towards lunar base, and possibly Mars base, activities. Design of structures for these bases requires knowledge about loadings and conditions which in...
A Probabilistic Regional Damage Estimation Model for Earthquake Occurrences
In this paper we present a model for estimating regional earthquake damage. The model utilizes the relational data base management system ORACLE and the geographic information system ARC/INFO...
Reliability-Centered Management of Wood Transmission Lines
Through implementing reliability-centered management concepts, more cost-effective management of wood pole transmission lines may be achieved. By identifying individual structures and...
Development of a Limit-State Seismic Code for Bridges
The catastrophic collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct during the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989 and the loss of spans in both the Struve Slough Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland...
Quantifying Uncertainty in Site Characterization
The uncertainties in determining the true geologic conditions at the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada needed to be determined as part of the Exploratory...
Evaluation of Expansive Clay Soils in Tucson, Arizona
Research was conducted to investigate the mineralogy, engineering properties, and regional distribution of expansive clay soils in Tucson, Arizona. Data derived from X-ray diffraction...
Response of Suspension and Deck Arch Bridges to Spatially Varying Ground Motion
Recent awareness of the spatial variation of earthquake ground motion has caused concern about the safety of large engineered structures under seismic excitation. The effects of spatially...
Estimates of Extreme Wind Distribution Tails
The assumption that extreme winds have a Gumbel distribution appears to yield unrealistically high failure probability estimates for wind-sensitive structures. For this reason we study...
Sampling Errors in U. S. Extreme Wind Records
A study of design level extreme wind speeds showed that sampling errors were the primary cause of station to station variability. A method for decreasing sampling errors in design wind...
TLP Fatigue Due to Second-Order Springing
For offhsore oil production in water depths beyond 300-350 m, the tension leg platform (TLP) has become an increasingly popular design concept. The TLP is a floating structure with excess...
An Advanced First-Order Method for System Reliability
This paper proposes an iterative first-order method for accurate estimation of the joint failure region of two nonlinear limit states. Current methods use either a first-order approach...
Probabilistic Rotordynamics Analysis Using an Adaptive Importance Sampling Method
A methodology is developed to compute the probability of instability of a rotor system that can be represented by a system of second-order ordindary linear differential equations. The...
Structural System Design under Uncertainty Via Pareto Optimization
Structural systems are generally designed under safety, serviceability and economy requirements. The single objective optimal design problem of both deterministic and nondeterministic...
Live Load Models Based on WIM Data
The objective of the paper is to present the results of weigh-in-motion (WIM) measurements carried out in Michigan. Selected bridges were instrumented and truck weights and axle configurations...
Optimizing Economic Returns in Drainage Design
Soil wetness is a limitation to high agricultural productivity in Northern New York (NNY) where some 325,000 ha of cropland require drainage treatment. Drainage is needed for trafficability...
Stabilizing Drop Structure by Drainage Modifications
East Drain Terminal Drop Structure is located in East Drain, an open toe drain of Palmetto Bend Dam, in the tide water area of south Texas. The drop structure was threatened by piping...
Tapping Shallow Groundwater with Horizontal Wells
In recent years, horizontal wells have become an economical water supply source alternative for many shallow water table areas in Florida. Horizontal wells typically utilize 15 to 20 cm...
Agricultural Drains and Safety of Dams
Bonny Dam is located in east central Colorado on the South Fork Republican River. The dam's foundation is in the relatively porous Ogallala formation. Throughout the history of the dam,...
Design of Transient and Steady State Drain Spacing
Drain spacings calculated by steady state or transient equations can be made equal by adjusting the design water table height used in the equations. The adjustments are not constant and...
Degradation of Ground Water by Tetrachloroethylene
Ground water from many municipal water wells in California has been degraded by tetrachloroethylene (PCE) at concentrations above the drinking water standard. Investigations conducted...
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