scholarly journals Advanced Load Effect Model for Probabilistic Structural Design

10.14311/874 ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sýkora

In probabilistic structural design some actions on structures can be well described by renewal processes with intermittencies. The expected number of renewals for a given time interval and the probability of “on“-state at an arbitrary point in time are of a main interest when estimating the structural reliability level related to the observed period. It appears that the expected number of renewals follows the Poisson distribution. The initial probability of “on”-state is derived assuming random initial conditions. Based on a two-state Markov process, the probability of “on”-state at an arbitrary point in time then proves to be a time-invariant quantity under random initial conditions. The results are numerically verified by Monte Carlo simulations. It is anticipated that the proposed load effect model will become a useful tool in probabilistic structural design. The aims of future research are outlined in the conclusions of the paper. 

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (A) ◽  
pp. 67-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Baker ◽  
P. Chigansky ◽  
K. Hamza ◽  
F. C. Klebaner

AbstractThe effect of small noise in a smooth dynamical system is negligible on any finite time interval; in this paper we study situations where the effect persists on intervals increasing to ∞. Such an asymptotic regime occurs when the system starts from an initial condition that is sufficiently close to an unstable fixed point. In this case, under appropriate scaling, the trajectory converges to a solution of the unperturbed system started from a certainrandominitial condition. In this paper we consider the case of one-dimensional diffusions on the positive half-line; this case often arises as a scaling limit in population dynamics.


Author(s):  
D.Y. Ivanov ◽  

Here we consider the initial-boundary value problems in a homogeneous cylindrical domain YI Ω ×+ ( Ω+ is an open two-dimensional bounded simply connected domain with a boundary 5 ∂Ω ∈C , 2 \ Ω≡ Ω − + R is the open exterior of the domain Ω+ , [0, ] YI ≡ Y is the height of the cylinder) on a time interval [0, ] TI ≡ T . The initial conditions and the boundary conditions on the bases of the cylinder are zero, and the boundary conditions on the lateral surface of the cylinder are given by the function 1 2 wx x yt ( , , ,) ( 1 2 (, ) x x ∈∂Ω , Y y ∈ I , T t I ∈ ). An approximate solution of such problems is obtained through the combined use of the Fourier method and the collocation boundary element method based on piecewise quadratic interpolation (PQI). The solution to the problem in the cylinder is expanded in a Fourier series in terms of eigenfunctions of the operator 2 By yy ≡ ∂ with the corresponding zero boundary conditions. The coefficients of such a Fourier series are solutions of problems for two-dimensional heat equations 2 2 t ∇ =∂ + u u ku . With a low smoothness of the functions w in the variable y, the weight of solutions at large values of k increases and the accuracy of solving the problem in the cylinder decreases. To maintain accuracy on a uniform grid, the step of discretization of the boundary function w with respect to the variable y is decreased by a factor of j. Here j is an averaged value of the quantity Y k π depending on the function w. In addition, the steps of discretization of functions ( ) 2 exp − τ k with respect to the variable τ in domains τ≤πT k are reduced by a factor of 2 2 k π . The steps in the remaining ranges of values τ and the steps by the other variables remain unchanged. The approximate solutions obtained on the basis of this procedure converge stably to exact solutions in the 2 ( ) LI I Y T × -norm with a cubic velocity uniformly with respect to sets of functions w, bounded by norm of functions with low smoothness in the variable y, uniformly along the length of the generatrix of the cylinder Y , and uniformly in the domain Ω . The latter is also associated with the use of PQI along the curve ∂Ω over the variable 2 2 ρ≡ − r d , which is carried out at small values of r ( d and r are the distances from the observed point of the domain Ω to the boundary ∂Ω and to the current point of integration along ∂Ω , respectively). The theoretical conclusions are confirmed by the results of the numerical solution of the problem in a circular cylinder, where the dependence of the boundary functions w on y is given by the normalized eigenfunctions of the differential operator By which vary in a sufficiently large range of values of k .


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guofeng Ma ◽  
Shan Jiang ◽  
Jianyao Jia

PurposeA lack of reliable and effective communication tools poses major barriers impeding the performance of construction projects consisting of diverse participants. Although some construction project teams (CPTs) begin to apply social media (SM) as an available approach for project management the entire mechanism of SM adoption in this specific context remains understudied. Therefore, this study aims to adopt a CPT's lens to investigate the critical antecedents and associated effects underlying SM adoption in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachBased on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) theory, a conceptual model was proposed and tested by empirical data collected from 159 CPTs in China. Structural equation modeling technique was employed for data analysis.FindingsThe results demonstrate that all the five extracted TOE-based antecedents including two technological factors (i.e. compatibility and expected cost), one organizational factor (i.e. top management support) and two environmental factors (i.e. project partner collaboration and project fit) are crucial to the adoption of SM in CPTs. Besides, SM acceptance is found to mediate the relationships between organizational and environmental factors and SM use. Moreover, SM use significantly predicts the communication effectiveness of CPTs.Research limitations/implicationsA questionnaire study based on cross-sectional data from China may only unveil the logic of SM adoption in the context of Chinese construction industry within a shorter time interval. It is recommended that future research could develop longitudinal studies among various construction practitioners in different countries to further specify and generalize the current findings.Originality/valueThis paper provides a comprehensive understanding of SM adoption in the construction industry by exploring the preadoption antecedents and postadoption effects from the perspective of project teams. The empirical findings advance the current web-based project management literature and afford new insights for construction practitioners into better managing SM application to reap its full capabilities in projects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (9) ◽  
pp. 3445-3466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés A. Pérez Hortal ◽  
Isztar Zawadzki ◽  
M. K. Yau

Abstract We introduce a new technique for the assimilation of precipitation observations, the localized ensemble mosaic assimilation (LEMA). The method constructs an analysis by selecting, for each vertical column in the model, the ensemble member with precipitation at the ground that is locally closest to the observed values. The proximity between the modeled and observed precipitation is determined by the mean absolute difference of precipitation intensity, converted to reflectivity and measured over a spatiotemporal window centered at each grid point of the model. The underlying hypothesis of the approach is that the ensemble members that are locally closer to the observed precipitation are more probable to be closer to the “truth” in the state variables than the other members. The initial conditions for the new forecast are obtained by nudging the background states toward the mosaic of the closest ensemble members (analysis) over a 30 min time interval, reducing the impacts of the imbalances at the boundaries between the different selected members. The potential of the method is studied using observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) employing a small ensemble of 20 members. The ensemble is produced by the WRF Model, run at a horizontal grid spacing of 20 km. The experiments lend support to the validity of the hypothesis and allow the determination of the optimal parameters for the approach. In the context of OSSE, this new data assimilation technique is able to produce forecasts with considerable and long-lived error reductions in the fields of precipitation, temperature, humidity, and wind.


1992 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 145-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Dvorak

In this article we present a numerical study of the motion of asteroids in the 2:1 and 3:1 resonance with Jupiter. We integrated the equations of motion of the elliptic restricted 3-body problem for a great number of initial conditions within this 2 resonances for a time interval of 104 periods and for special cases even longer (which corresponds in the the Sun-Jupiter system to time intervals up to 106 years). We present our results in the form of 3-dimensional diagrams (initial a versus initial e, and in the z-axes the highest value of the eccentricity during the whole integration time). In the 3:1 resonance an eccentricity higher than 0.3 can lead to a close approach to Mars and hence to an escape from the resonance. Asteroids in the 2:1 resonance with Jupiter with eccentricities higher than 0.5 suffer from possible close approaches to Jupiter itself and then again this leads in general to an escape from the resonance. In both resonances we found possible regions of escape (chaotic regions), but only for initial eccentricities e > 0.15. The comparison with recent results show quite a good agreement for the structure of the 3:1 resonance. For motions in the 2:1 resonance our numeric results are in contradiction to others: high eccentric orbits are also found which may lead to escapes and consequently to a depletion of this resonant regions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Saldaña ◽  
Andrei Korobeinikov ◽  
Ignacio Barradas

We investigate the optimal vaccination and screening strategies to minimize human papillomavirus (HPV) associated morbidity and the interventions cost. We propose a two-sex compartmental model of HPV-infection with time-dependent controls (vaccination of adolescents, adults, and screening) which can act simultaneously. We formulate optimal control problems complementing our model with two different objective functionals. The first functional corresponds to the protection of the vulnerable group and the control problem consists of minimizing the cumulative level of infected females over a fixed time interval. The second functional aims to eliminate the infection, and, thus, the control problem consists of minimizing the total prevalence at the end of the time interval. We prove the existence of solutions for the control problems, characterize the optimal controls, and carry out numerical simulations using various initial conditions. The results and properties and drawbacks of the model are discussed.


2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (02) ◽  
pp. 550-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. E. Barndorff-Nielsen ◽  
N. N. Leonenko

We consider solutions of Burgers' equation with linear or quadratic external potential and stationary random initial conditions of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type. We study a class of limit laws that correspond to a scale renormalization of the solutions.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document