Quality of Inspectors?In Search of Excellence
Assuring quality in construction has become a major challenge to the design/construction industry today. Attention to the issue has been a result of problems in the nuclear power industry...
Management Lessons from Engineering Failures
Engineering failures are not always catastrophic. More are due to improper management of contracts rather than actual physical failures. Some result in loss of life; most result in disputes...
Bus Maintenance Cost Control
Effective bus maintenance programs are essential for the cost-effective provision of reliable transit service. Standard tools for maintenance management include preventative maintenance...
On-Line Computerized Maintenance Management
Maintenance is the last cost saving frontier of scientific management. Top management has concentrated on production for generations, largely ignoring maintenance. The attitude of 'fix...
Learning From Failure
Innovative engineering design involves assumptions about the future use and behavior of a structure. By understanding and learning from the infrequent but spectacular large failures, engineers...
Geology of the Strontia Springs Arch Dam
Precambrian metamorphic gneisses comprised the foundation rock at Strontia Springs Damsite. Geologic exploration at the axis selected for the arch dam revealed a large shear zone which...
Ice Loads on Structures With Compound Slopes
Many of the offshore drilling structures proposed for use in the Arctic have sides with multiple slopes. Sloping walls are used at the waterline to cause the ice sheet to fail in bending...
Centrifugal Modeling of Ice Forces on Single Piles
The ice forces and ice floe failure mechanisms associated with an ice sheet surrounding a vertical cylindrical pile were evaluated. A test system was developed to model ice forces in gravity...
Three-Dimensional Analysis of an Artificial Island
A nonlinear, finite element analysis has been carried out to investigate the influence of three-dimensional loading and geometry on deformation and failure of an artificial island. The...
Failure Modes in Concrete Structures Due to Ice Load
Analytical methods are described for predicting local behavior of deepwater concrete structures subjected to short duration loading from floating ice. Overall analytical approaches such...
Response of Concrete Shell Panels to Simulated Impact
Concrete gravity structures have been constructed in Arctic regions for oil and gas exploration/production. In addition to extreme winds and waves, sheet ice, annual ridges, rubble fields,...
Analysis of Liquefaction Potential of Hydraulically Placed Subsea Berms
The use of hydraulically placed sand for the construction of artificial islands for hydrocarbon exploration in the Beaufort Sea has necessitated detailed geotechnical evaluations of their...
Fracture Theory for Nonhomogeneous Brittle Materials with Application to Ice
Brittle heterogeneous materials generally fracture with a dispersed zone of microcracking at the fracture front. The deformation and failure of these materials can be described by a nonlocal...
Spalling and Buckling of Ice Sheets
The effect of local eccentricity in the vertical direction on the magnitude of compressive strength of wide ice sheets is studied theoretically. Two new failure modes are identified: indentation...
Thaw Settlement as a Result of Permafrost Deterioration
An overview is given of floor and footing failure as a result of deterioration of permafrost. Consideration of causes for the deterioration and methods of repair are addressed in general...
Maintaining a Natural Gas Pipeline in Active Landslides
This paper deals with a pipeline section on both sides of Douglas Pass in west Colorado. Landslide activity in the area has been causing considerable problems and disruptions of the pipe...
Methods for Reliability Analysis of Water Distribution Networks
A detailed review of the literature reveals that there is currently no universally accepted definition or measure of reliability for water distribution networks. The purpose of this paper...
The 1984 novel
Classification of Human Errors
Error control should be a primary part of any risk control strategy. Classification of errors may serve as a basis for the systematic analysis to eliminate the causes and to reduce the...
Concepts and Methods in Reliability-Based Structural Optimization
This paper presents an overview of the major concepts and methods used in reliability-based structural optimization. New formulations related to multicriteria optimization are developed....
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