Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy
Author(s): National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Date: 2009
Format: PDF
Language: English
ISBN10: 0309130573
Pages: 136 (9.5 MB)
Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy
By Committee on FEMA Flood Maps, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Mapping Science Committee, National Research Council
* Publisher: National Academies Press
* Number Of Pages: 136
* Publication Date: 2009-05-15
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0309130573
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780309130578
Book Description:
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps portray the height and extent to which flooding is expected to occur, and they form the basis for setting flood insurance premiums and regulating development in the floodplain. As such, they are an important tool for individuals, businesses, communities, and government agencies to understand and deal with flood hazard and flood risk. Improving map accuracy is therefore not an academic question--better maps help everyone.
Making and maintaining an accurate flood map is neither simple nor inexpensive. Even after an investment of more than $1 billion to take flood maps into the digital world, only 21 percent of the population has maps that meet or exceed national flood hazard data quality thresholds. Even when floodplains are mapped with high accuracy, land development and natural changes to the landscape or hydrologic systems create the need for continuous map maintenance and updates.
Mapping the Zone examines the factors that affect flood map accuracy, assesses the benefits and costs of more accurate flood maps, and recommends ways to improve flood mapping, communication, and management of flood-related data.
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Risk and Decision Analysis in Maintenance Optimization and Flood Management
Risk and Decision Analysis in Maintenance Optimization and Flood Management
Author(s): M.J. Kallen and S.P. Kuniewski
Publisher: IOS Press
Date: 2009
Format: PDF
Language: English
ISBN10: 160750068X
Pages: 184 (2.00 MB)
The late professor J.M. Van Noortwijk (1961-2008) worked to bridge the practice of mathematical modeling with solving complex problems in the field of civil engineering. He developed advanced probabilistic and statistical models and made these accessible to engineers working in such areas as structural reliability, hydraulic engineering and maintenance optimization. This book contains an overview of his work and a collection of twelve papers presented at the symposium held in his honor on the 24th of November, 2009, in Delft, the Netherlands. The topics covered by these contributions include the elicitation of experts opinion, condition-based maintenance optimization using the gamma process, and the assessment and management of flood risks. They present the latest developments by his peers in their respective fields.
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This book is a summary of experimental and analytical techniques that are essential to students and practicing engineers for conducting mechanical component design and testing for durability. There is a serious need for engineers to have an overview on the entire methodology of durability testing and reliability to bridge the gap between fundamental fatigue research and its durability applications.
· Covers the useful techniques for component load measurement and data acquisition, fatigue properties determination, fatigue analysis, and accelerated life test criteria development, and, most importantly, test plans for reliability demonstrations.
· Written from a practical point of view, based on the authors' industrial and academic experience in automotive engineering design.
· Extensive practical examples are used to illustrate the main concepts in all chapters.
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Hydrological Modelling and the Water Cycle: Coupling the Atmospheric and Hydrological Models (Water Science and Technology Library)
Hydrological Modelling and the Water Cycle: Coupling the Atmospheric and Hydrological Models (Water Science and Technology Library)
Author(s): Soroosh Sorooshian, Kuo-Lin Hsu, Erika Coppola, Barbara Tomassetti, Marco Verdecchia, Guido Visconti
Publisher: Springer
Date: 2008-07-10
Format: PDF
Language: English
ISBN10: 354077842X
ISBN13: 9783540778424
Pages: 291 (35 MB)
Product Description:
This collected work reports on the state of the art of hydrological model simulation, as well as the methods for satellite-based rainfall estimation. Mainly addressed to scientists and researchers, the contributions have the structure of a standard paper appearing in most cited hydrological, atmospheric and climate journals. Several already-known hydrological models and a few novel ones are presented, as well as the satellite-based precipitation techniques. As the field of hydrologic modeling is experiencing rapid development and transition to application of distributed models, many challenges including overcoming the requirements of compatible observations of inputs and outputs are addressed.
The many contributing authors, who are well established in this field, provide readers with a timely overview of the ongoing research on these topics. The level of interest and active involvement in the discussions clearly demonstrate the importance the scientific community places on challenges related to the coupling of atmospheric and hydrologic models.
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Water Resources Systems Planning and Management (Developments in Water Science)
Water Resources Systems Planning and Management (Developments in Water Science)
Author(s): Sharad K. Jain & VP Singh
Publisher: Elsevier Science
Date: 2003-09-26
Format: PDF
Language: English
ISBN10: 0444514295
ISBN13: 9780444514295
Pages: 882 (32.00 MB)
Product Description:
This book is divided into four parts. The first part, Preliminaries, begins by introducing the basic theme of the book. It provides an overview of the current status of water resources utilization, the likely scenario of future demands, and advantages and disadvantages of systems techniques. An understanding of how the hydrological data are measured and processed is important before undertaking any analysis. The discussion is extended to emerging techniques, such as Remote Sensing, GIS, Artificial Neural Networks, and Expert Systems. The statistical tools for data analysis including commonly used probability distributions, parameter estimation, regression and correlation, frequency analysis, and time-series analysis are discussed in a separate chapter.
Part 2 Decision Making, is a bouquet of techniques organized in 4 chapters. After discussing optimization and simulation, the techniques of economic analysis are covered. Recently, environmental and social aspects, and rehabilitation and resettlement of project-affected people have come to occupy a central stage in water resources management and any good book is incomplete unless these topics are adequately covered. The concept of rational decision making along with risk, reliability, and uncertainty aspects form subject matter of a chapter. With these analytical tools, the practitioner is well equipped to take a rational decision for water resources utilization.
Part 3 deals with Water Resources Planning and Development. This part discusses the concepts of planning, the planning process, integrated planning, public involvement, and reservoir sizing.
The last part focuses on Systems Operation and Management. After a resource is developed, it is essential to manage it in the best possible way. Many dams around the world are losing some storage capacity every year due to sedimentation and therefore, the assessment and management of reservoir sedimentation is described in details. No analysis of water resources systems is complete without consideration of water quality. A river basin is the natural unit in which water occurs. The final chapter discusses various issues related to holistic management of a river basin.
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This book provides a comprehensive and systematic presentation of the mathematical models for the simulation of transportation systems and the methodologies for the analysis and design of these systems. Theoretical and operational aspects are presented in a rigorous and exhaustive framework, addressing a broad range of applications performed by researchers and practitioners. Topics are presented with an increasing level of detail and complexity.
In this 2nd edition the author extends and generalizes the contents of the previous edition entitled "Transportation Systems Engineering: Theory and Methods" published in 2001. In addition to entirely new material dealing with the recent developments in the field, the text has been revised to simplify the presentation. The Bibliography has also been expanded significantly. All the topics are presented with simple numerical examples as well as with references to real-life applications.
The material is structured so as to offer different levels of complexity and different reading paths based on the reader's needs. It is suitable for graduate level courses on transportation analysis and planning. Prerequisites include a basic knowledge of calculus, optimization techniques, probability theory and statistics. Due to the breadth and depth of topics covered, the book will also serve as an excellent reference guide for researchers, teachers and practitioners.
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Prior to the computer era, analytical methods in elasticity had already been developed and improvedup to impressive levels. Relevant mathematical techniques were extensively exploited,contributing significantly to the understanding of physical phenomena. In recent decades, numerical computerized techniques have been refined and modernized, and have reached highlevels of capabilities, standardization and automation. This trend, accompanied by convenient and high resolution graphical visualization capability, has made analytical methods less attractive, and the amount of effort devoted to them has become substantially smaller. Yet, with some tenacity, the tremendous advances in computerized tools have yielded various mature programs for symbolic manipulation. Such tools have revived many abandoned analytical methodologies by easing the tedious effort that was previously required, and by providing additional capabilities to perform complex derivation processes that were once considered impractical. Generally speaking, it is well recognized that analytical solutions should be applied to relatively simple problems, while numerical techniques may handle more complex cases. However, it is also agreed that analytical solutions provide better insight and improved understanding of the involved physical phenomena, and enable a clear representation of the role taken by each of the problem parameters. Nowadays, analytical and numerical methods are considered as complementary: that is, while analytical methods provide the required understanding, numerical solutions provide accuracy and the capability to deal with cases where the geometry and other characteristics impose relatively complex solutions. Nevertheless, from a practical point of view, analytic solutions are still considered as “art”, while numerical codes (such as codes that are based on the finite-element method) seem to offer a “straightforward” solution for any type and geometry of a new problem. One of the reasons for this view emerges from the variety of techniques that are used for analytical solutions. For example, one has the option to select either the deformation field or the stress field to construct the initial solution hypothesis, or, one has the option to formulate the governing equations using differential equilibrium, or by employing more integral energy methodologies for the same task. Hence, the main obstacle to using analytical approaches seems to be the fact that many researchers and engineers tend to believe that, as far as analytic solutions are considered, each problem is associated with a specific solution type and that a different solution methodology has to be tailored for every new problem.
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Performance of Lead-Rubber and Sliding Bearings under Different Axial Load and Velocity Conditions
By: Gianmario Benzoni, Chiara Casarotti
Report No. SRMD–2006/05-rev3
May 2008
Department of Structural Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California 92093-0085
ABSTRACT:
A series of tests on full scale devices for bridge application were completed. Two types of isolators were considered: lead-rubber bearings and sliding bearings. The main performance characteristics of these devices were already acquired through extensive testing campaigns designed for their specific applications. A more systematic analysis of their performance was considered necessary to enrich the knowledge of the device behavior under different loading conditions. Specifically the focus of this project was to address the effects of the applied axial load, the varying levels of velocity and the repetition of cycles on the performance characteristics. The response variations were analyzed, for a low, medium and high level of applied vertical load, defined based on the design load of the bearing. A large spectrum of testing velocities was applied, ranging from very slow tests (0.254 mm/s) to high speed tests (1270 mm/s). Peak shear force, yield force, stiffness, energy dissipated per cycle, friction coefficient and damping was estimated and compared among the different loading conditions. A specific numerical model, for lead-rubber bearings, able to take into account the effects of strain rate and repetition of cycles, is proposed. The effects of bi-directional motions and of unequal distribution of vertical loads between bearings installed in parallel were also investigated.
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Analytical and Experimental Study of Fiber-Reinforced Strip Isolators
By: James M. Kelly and Shakhzod M. Takhirov
PEER Report 2002/11
Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center
College of Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
September 2002
ABSTRACT:
This report describes an experimental and theoretical study of the feasibility of using fiber reinforcement to produce lightweight, low-cost elastomeric isolators for application to housing, schools, and other public buildings in highly seismic areas of the developing world. The theoretical analysis covers the mechanical characteristics of multi-layer elastomeric isolation bearings in which the reinforcing elements, normally steel plates, are replaced by a fiber reinforcement. The fiber in the fiber-reinforced isolator, in contrast to the steel in the conventional isolator (which is assumed to be rigid both in extension and flexure), is assumed to be flexible in extension, but completely without flexure rigidity. The theoretical analysis on which the design of steel-reinforced isolators is based is then extended to accommodate the stretching of the fiber-reinforcement. Several examples of isolators in the form of long strips were made by Dongil Rubber Belt Company Ltd., of Pusan, Korea, and tested in the Structural Research Laboratory of the Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley. The tested isolators had significantly large shape factors, which for conventional isolators require accounting for the effects of material compressibility. The theoretical analysis is then extended to include compressibility, and the competing influences of reinforcement flexibility and compressibility are studied.
The theoretical analysis suggests, and the test results confirm, that it is possible to produce a fiber-reinforced strip isolator that matches the behavior of a steel-reinforced isolator. Furthermore, the fiber-reinforced isolator is significantly lighter and can be made by a much less labor-intensive manufacturing process. The advantage of the strip isolator is that it can easily be used in buildings with masonry walls. The intention of this research is to provide a low-cost lightweight isolation system for housing and public buildings in the developing countries.
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