Soni Bisht and S.B. Singh
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate various reliability measures like reliability, expected lifetime (mean time to failure), signature reliability and compare networks based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate various reliability measures like reliability, expected lifetime (mean time to failure), signature reliability and compare networks based on the different flows.
Design/methodology/approach
The reliability characteristics of complex bridge networks have been evaluated using different algorithms with the help of universal generating function (UGF). Further, the signature reliability of the considered networks has been determined using Owen’s method.
Findings
The present paper proposes an efficient algorithm to compute the reliability indices of complex bridge networks having i.i.d. lifetime components (nodes, edges) with the help of UGF and Owen’s method. This study reveals that a slight change in the complex bridge network affects the reliability significantly. Finally, by the reliability structure function, proposed algorithms are used to find the signature and MTTF. From signature, we have determined the different failure probabilities corresponding to edges of the network.
Originality/value
In this work, we have evaluated reliability characteristics and signature reliability of the complex bridge networks using UGF method and Owen’s method respectively unlike done in the past.
Details
Keywords
Sotirios A. Argyroudis, Giorgos Nasiopoulos, Nikolaos Mantadakis and Stergios Aristoteles Mitoulis
Transport infrastructure resilience is of paramount importance for societies, therefore its quantification is urgently needed. A resilience assessment framework based on…
Abstract
Purpose
Transport infrastructure resilience is of paramount importance for societies, therefore its quantification is urgently needed. A resilience assessment framework based on well-informed resilience indices is presented and applied for assessing the resilience of representative bridges exposed to earthquakes.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework quantifies the robustness of bridges against different seismic hazard scenarios, by using realistic fragility functions and the rapidity of the recovery and/or retrofitting after the occurrence of a certain degree of damage, based on realistic restoration functions.
Findings
Two different approaches for the modeling of the restoration tasks are examined. Both direct losses due to structural damage and indirect losses due to traffic disruption are estimated.
Originality/value
A new cost-based resilience index is introduced and alternate approaches for expressing the restoration strategies are examined and assessed. The results facilitate owners to enhance cost-based resilience management toward more resilient infrastructure.
Details
Keywords
Ashraf A.A. Beshr, Zeinab Ghazi and Usama Heneash
In any developing country, including Egypt, highway bridges are essential to the sustained growth of urban areas. It is also regarded as one of the significant construction…
Abstract
Purpose
In any developing country, including Egypt, highway bridges are essential to the sustained growth of urban areas. It is also regarded as one of the significant construction projects that contribute to improve and facilitate transportation and save a lot of travel time. Bridges have some defects and deformation as a result of climatic changes, vehicle loads and express traffic and accidents, which necessitate continual observation and monitoring to repair any defect before it increases. One of the main reinforced bridges in Egypt is Kafr El-Sheikh highway bridge which is the subject of this effort. This paper focuses on an integrated monitoring system for assessing the deformation behavior of this bridge.
Design/methodology/approach
The coordinates of monitoring stations distributed throughout the structure are pertinent data for evaluating the deformation of this structure derived from geodetic observations. These points’ coordinates are determined with reference to control fixed points. Therefore, any distortions in the coordinates of control points between any two successive observational epochs will have an impact on the structural deformation values. This paper investigates the application of multiparameter transformation for structural health monitoring of bridges in order to address this problem. Statistical tests of geodetic measurements using the F-Fisher criterion at a 98% confidence level are also included. Two observations epochs were carried out using terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) in December 2021 and October 2022. In each epoch, visual inspection is carried out to identify the defects in the pavement layer of the bridge and the defects in the body of the bridge itself, this is done before field monitoring with TLS.
Findings
The potential application of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is investigated in this research for studying the condition assessment and inspection of highway bridge in Kafr El-Sheikh city in Egypt. The suggested 3D TLS as a geodetic monitoring methods for highway bridges can yield important information on the movement and deformation of structural elements. TLS can therefore be a useful substitute for the outdated, conventional methods. Using seven criteria, the transformation methodology can eliminate systematic mistakes in measurements between two successive epochs, making it a useful tool for calculating the values of structural deformation. A statistical test based on the F-Fisher criterion has a 98% confidence level and may be used to calculate the values of deformation for any structure, such as a highway bridge between any two observational epochs.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on an integrated monitoring system for assessing the deformation behavior of highway bridges. The paper seeks to cover the following points: 1. Creating an accurate observation method using a 3D laser scanner to scan, track and assess the R.C. highway bridge condition in Kafr El-Sheikh city, Egypt. 2. Using TLS observations to identify and quantify the size of defects and deformation in the pavement surface, R.C main system of the studied bridge. 3. Investigating the possibilities of determining the monitoring points’ displacement on the bridge main system using a seven-parameter transformation.
Details
Keywords
Yaw A. Debrah and Ian G. Smith
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on…
Abstract
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.
Details
Keywords
Ying Nan Yang and Mohan M. Kumaraswamy
This paper aims to present approaches towards improving some specific infrastructure maintenance principles, strategies, models and practices, based on a recent study of bridge…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present approaches towards improving some specific infrastructure maintenance principles, strategies, models and practices, based on a recent study of bridge management systems in Hong Kong. A specific goal is to develop better informed and more systematic approaches to condition assessment, deterioration forecasting, and maintenance decision making over the life‐cycle of the built asset.
Design/methodology/approach
Improved performance prediction and decision‐making approaches are developed and presented based on a research exercise to formulate a maintenance management framework for concrete bridge elements in Hong Kong. This includes for example, the presentation of decision‐making approaches for optimizing inspection intervals on bridge expansion joints.
Findings
The findings show that judicious integration is needed in incorporating valuable elements of, and lessons learned from, previous practice with proposed new strategies/ principles, models and practices for specific scenarios.
Practical implications
Based on the findings, practitioners' understandings can be deepened as regards the barriers to improving condition assessment, deterioration forecasting, and maintenance decision making over the life‐cycle of the built asset. Furthermore, the results also provide useful information for developing strategies and practices to improve currently used infrastructure management systems.
Originality/value
Major obstacles are overcome in developing better informed and more systematic approaches as above, and in extending current knowledge on condition assessment, performance prediction and decision‐making models by utilizing more pertinent data and addressing some barriers in practical implementation.
Details
Keywords
Robert C. Guyer and Jeffrey A. Laman
Limited funding to maintain and preserve short‐line railroad (SLRR) bridge infrastructure requires that important priority decisions be made on an annual basis. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Limited funding to maintain and preserve short‐line railroad (SLRR) bridge infrastructure requires that important priority decisions be made on an annual basis. The compartmentalized, dispersed, and diverse nature of many SLRR owners and operators is such that there is a need for a coordinated and centralized effort to evaluate the state‐wide system as a whole, to ensure the most effective overall resource allocation and also identify assets that either outperform predictions or consume disproportionate levels of resources for maintenance and operation, allowing for review of design and construction practices. The purpose of this paper is to examine the state of the art for railroad bridge population management and resource allocation decisions and to develop a state‐wide SLRR bridge prioritization methodology, to be used as a tool by a state agency to assist in allocating limited public funding for bridge maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement activities.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review examining the state of the art of railroad bridge population management and resource allocation decisions was conducted, which provided the foundation for the development of a bridge prioritization algorithm. A state‐wide survey was conducted to develop a bridge database. A detailed evaluation of a statistically significant sample of bridges was conducted, to determine the structural and maintenance needs and preservation status of sub‐populations. The research team developed methodologies, applicable to the entire population, to develop a ranking of bridge preservation candidates.
Findings
A risk‐based prioritization algorithm is proposed to assign a relative risk score to each bridge in the population. The algorithm provides a management tool for making more effective maintenance and preservation decisions. Additionally, the bridge database allows managers to examine sub‐populations according to structural parameters to evaluate performance.
Originality/value
The revisable, modular framework of the prioritization algorithm provides a simple, effective and versatile tool for asset management and evaluation. The present proposal of this new prioritization methodology for SLRR bridges is a valuable tool for agencies faced with making rational decisions with limited information. Such a methodology does not currently exist in the literature and is of significant interest to short‐line owners/operators and state transportation agencies.
Details
Keywords
It evaluated the seismic vulnerability based on fewer factors by presenting the effectiveness of seismic and structural parameters. The proposed method first demonstrated the…
Abstract
Purpose
It evaluated the seismic vulnerability based on fewer factors by presenting the effectiveness of seismic and structural parameters. The proposed method first demonstrated the effect of earthquake ground motion inputs on predicting the slight, moderate, extensive and collapse limit states and confirmed the method’s efficiency. The fragility curves illustrated with the approach of the present study are compared with the traditional techniques, such as analytical methods.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the different macro- and micro-structural characteristics and the earthquake records, achieving a certain relation from regression analysis using artificial neural networks (ANNs) is difficult. With this background in mind, the present study aimed to compare the proposed model of the considered bridge with the analytical and ANN results. After statistical analysis and estimation of the most effective factors in predicting responses from the proposed approach, two-parameter two- and three-dimensional fragility curves are extracted.
Findings
Due to the structural differences between horizontally curved bridges, the methodology does not require any classification of bridge classes to predict responses. For a specific L/R of the bridge, the parameters cumulative absolute velocity (CAV) and Sa (T1) can provide a good estimate of the seismic fragility curves, and the proposed approach with less parameter assignment also leads to good results. With less computational effort, fragility curves can be illustrated.
Originality/value
The proposed method demonstrated the ability to accurately estimate the occurrence and non-occurrence limit states while maintaining a low computational cost and the derivation of a curved bridge’s seismic fragility curve.
Details
Keywords
Mainstream pornography is popular, freely accessible, and infused with themes of male dominance, aggression, and female subservience. Through depicting sex in these ways…
Abstract
Mainstream pornography is popular, freely accessible, and infused with themes of male dominance, aggression, and female subservience. Through depicting sex in these ways, mainstream pornography has the potential to influence the further development of harmful sexual scripts that condone or endorse violence against women and girls. These concerns warrant the adoption of a harms-based perspective in critical examinations of pornography's influence on sexual experiences. This chapter reports on findings from interviews with 24 heterosexual emerging adults living in Aotearoa/New Zealand about how pornography has impacted their lives. Despite a shared awareness among participants of mainstream pornography's misogynistic tendencies, and the potential for harm from those displays, men's and women's experiences were profoundly gendered. Men's reported experiences were often associated with concerns about their own sexual behaviors, performances, and/or abilities. Conversely, women's experiences were often shaped by how pornography had affected the way that men related to them sexually. Their experiences included instances of sexual coercion and assault which were not reported by the men. These findings signal the need for a gendered lens, situated within a broader harms-based perspective, in examinations of pornography's influence.
Details
Keywords
Michael J. Leiber and Maude Beaudry-Cyr
Framed by the intersectionality perspective and results from prior research, we examined the effects of race/ethnicity, gender, probation violations, and type of violation on…
Abstract
Purpose
Framed by the intersectionality perspective and results from prior research, we examined the effects of race/ethnicity, gender, probation violations, and type of violation on juvenile justice case outcomes in a Mid-Atlantic state.
Methodology/approach
Bivariate and multivariate analyses in the form of logistic regression were used to assess the extent race and ethnicity, gender, probation violations, and the type of violation, individually and in combination, impact case outcomes.
Findings
The findings indicate that the race/ethnicity of the youth, his or her gender, and whether involved in a probation violation and to some degree the type of violation, individually and in some cases, jointly, effect juvenile justice decision making. These relationships often involve receiving both harsh and lenient outcomes. We interpret the results as evidence that stereotyping plays out differently when race/ethnicity and gender intersect.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the general literature by (1) examining the neglected combination effects of race/ethnicity and gender with increased social control within juvenile justice proceedings; (2) including Hispanic youth; and (3) looking at the interrelationships among race/ethnicity and gender with the treatment of probation violators.