Fabio Casciati - Böcker

Researchers have studied many methods of using active and passive control devices for absorbing vibratory energy. Active devices, while providing significant reductions in structural motion, typically require large (and often multiply-redundant) power sources, and thereby raise concerns about stability. Passive devices are fixed and cannot be modified based on information of excitation or structural response. Semiactive devices on the other hand can provide significant vibration reductions comparable to those of active devices but with substantially reduced power requirements and in a stable manner. Technology of Semiactive Devices and Applications in Vibration Mitigation presents the most up-to-date research into semiactive control systems and illustrates case studies showing their implementation and effectiveness in mitigating vibration. The material is presented in a way that people not familiar with control or structural dynamics can easily understand.Connecting structural dynamics with control, this book: Provides a history of semiactive control and a bibliographic review of the most common semiactive control strategies.Presents state-of-the-art semiactive control systems and illustrates several case studies showing their implementation and effectiveness to mitigate vibration.Illustrates applications related to noise attenuation, wind vibration damping and earthquake effects mitigation amongst others.Offers a detailed comparison between collocated and non-collocated systems.Formulates the design concepts and control algorithms in simple and readable language.Includes an appendix that contains critical considerations about semiactive devices and methods of evaluation of the original damping of a structure.Technology of Semiactive Devices and Applications in Vibration Mitigation is a must-have resource for researchers, practitioners and design engineers working in civil, automotive and mechanical engineering. In addition it is undoubtedly the key reference for all postgraduate students studying in the field.

Organized by the International Association for Structural Control(IASC), and sponsored by the European Association for the Controlof Structures (EACS), the recent world conference on structuralcontrol (3WCSC) brought together engineers, scientists, architects,builders and other practitioners interested in the general fieldsof active, hybrid and passive vibration control, health monitoringand damage detection, intelligent/smart materials and systems.Applications included buildings, bridges, space structures andcivil infrastructures under the action of dynamic environments(earthquake, wind, traffic...) and man-made loads. It provideda valuable forum for the discussion of the most pressing concernsin structural control and its related topics. The conference covered a wide range of topics including activeand semi-active control devices, passive control devices, controlalgorithms for linear and non-linear systems, modeling andidentification of structural systems, sensors, health monitoringand damage detection, benchmark test of building and bridges,innovative materials for structural control, applications toaerospace structures, applications to bridges, applications tocritical structures, external dynamic force characteristics andcontrollability issues, implications of severe ground motions, windforces, codes for structural control, and so forth. Suchcomprehensive treatment of the most innovative developments instructural control will make these volumes an informative referencefor all researchers and engineers interested in this area. Proceedings of the US - Europe Workshop On Sensors andSmart Structures Technology Como and Somma Lombardo, Italy In the last few years, significant progress has been made in thearea of sensing technology and structural healthmonitoring/condition assessment in the US and Europe. Innovativeconcepts involving new hardware, algorithms, and software have beenproposed. There have also been several full-scale trialimplementations of densely sensor-instrumented infrastructures andhealth monitoring systems, as well as case studies on bridges inEurope and in the US. Much can be learnt through US/European collaboration in the areaof experimental verification on small, medium, large and full-scaleprojects. Moreover, a common framework for expanded future jointresearch can be developed on the increased understanding achievedthrough mutual learning. This workshop consisted of seminar sessions on several themeswhich included innovative sensing hardware, advances in wirelesstechnology, and damage detection/characterization and conditionassessment methodologies. In addition, there were several workshopsessions devoted to summarizing the status of the sensors and smartstructures technologies in these topics, identifying the compellingresearch issues, and formulating an action plan withrecommendations for development and implementation through possiblecollaborative research projects and sharing of scientific data.

Mathematical Models for Structural Reliability Analysis offers mathematical models for describing load and material properties in solving structural engineering problems. Examples are provided, demonstrating how the models are implemented, and the limitations of the models are clearly stated. Analytical solutions are also discussed, and methods are clearly distinguished from models. The authors explain both theoretical models and practical applications in a clear, concise, and readable fashion.

The Symposium, held in Torino (lSI, Villa Gualino) July 1-5, 1991 is the sixth of a series of IUTAM-Symposia on the application of stochastic analysis to continuum and discrete mechanics. The previous one, held in Innsbruck (1987), was mainly concentrated on qual­ itative and quantitative analysis of stochastic dynamical systems as well as on bifurcation and transition to chaos of deterministic systems. This Symposium concentrated on fundamental aspects (stochastic analysis and mathe­ matical methods), on specific applications in various branches of mechanics, engineering and applied sciences as well as on related fields as analysis of large systems, system identifica­ tion, earthquake prediction. Numerical methods suitable to provide quantitative results, say stochastic finite elements, approximation of probability distribution and direct integration of differential equations have also been the object of interesting presentations. Specific topics of the sessions have been: Engineering Applications, Equivalent Lineariza­ tion of Discrete Stochastic Systems, Fatigue and Life Estimation, Fluid Dynamics, Numerical Methods, Random Vibration, Reliability Analysis, Stochastic Differential Equations, System Identification, Stochastic Control. We are indebted to the IUTAM Bureau for having promoted and sponsored this Sympo­ sium and the Scientific Committee for having collaborated to the selection of participants and lecturers as well as to a prompt reviewing of the papers submitted for publication into these proceedings. A special thank is due to Frank Kozin: the organization of this meeting was for him ';ery important; he missed the meeting but his organizer ability was present.

A civil infrastructure system (CIS) is better defined by its interactive effects and integration than by its individual components. It transports people and goods, delivers clean water, electric power, gas and liquid fuel, preserves the environment from pollution, facilitates communication and mitigates the impact of natural disasters.Infrastructure systems are networks and/or lifelines of which highways, airports, canals, dams, bridges, embankments, mass transit and telecommunication systems, etc. are important components.The increasing demand for CIS availability — while new constructions may be prevented from environmental considerations and, in Europe, from architectural motivations — requires the improvement of the existing CIS. In addition, recent natural disasters have demonstrated the fragility of these systems and the devastating degree of socio-economic loss that their failure can bring. These trends are common in most industrial countries. All these countries are in urgent need of cost-effective strategies for planning, design, construction, maintenance and retrofit of their respective CISs in order to enhance and sustain the current economic prosperity into the 21st century.