Performance-Oriented Fault Tolerance in Computing Systems

In this dissertation we address the overhead reduction of fault tolerance (FT) techniques. Due to technology trends such as decreasing feature sizes and lowering voltage levels, FT is becoming increasingly important in modern computing systems. FT techniques are based on some form of redundancy. It can be space redundancy (additional hardware),...

Reliability in urban public transport network assessment and design

This research focuses on the influence of reliability of urban public transport services on network evaluation and network design. Public transport services suffer from all kind of disturbances, varying demand patterns, weather conditions, incidents, road works, et cetera. Current practice uses all kinds of operational measures to ensure the...

Traffic Information and Learning in Day-to-Day Route Choice

The aim of the research is to gain insight into the impact of traffic information on day-to-day route choice. The effects of both en-route information and ex-post information are studied. Special attention is given to three other important aspects in day-to-day route choice: learning from experience and information, habits and the effect of...

Reliability methods for finite element models

Probabilistic techniques in engineering problems are needed because they provide a deeper understanding of failure mechanisms and occurrence probabilities than deterministic techniques. In addition, they draw our attention to the consequences of failure at an early stage in the design process. However, to achieve these advantages, a well-defined...

Markov processes for maintenance optimization of civil infrastructure in the Netherlands

The Netherlands, like many countries in this world, face a challenging task in managing civil infrastructures. The management of vital infrastructures, like road bridges, is necessary to ensure their safe and reliable functioning. The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management in the Netherlands manages the structures in the...

Virtual thermo-mechanical prototyping of microelectronics devices

Microelectronics have pervaded our lives for the past fifty years, with massive penetration into health, mobility, safety and security, communications, education, entertainment and virtually every aspect of human lives. The main technology drivers that enabled this expansion are miniaturization and integration. The combination of these two has...

Chances in wind energy: A probalistic approach to wind turbine fatigue design

Wind is becoming an ever more important source of renewable energy: installed wind turbine power now stands at 60,000 MW worldwide, providing 0.6% of world electricity demand. Still it is important that the cost of wind energy is brought down further, which means that wind turbines must be designed to be exactly as strong as necessary, but no...

Networked reliability: Institutional fragmentation and the reliability of service provision in critical infrastructures

Critical Infrastructures are the arteries and veins of Western, urbanized societies. The services and products provided by these large-scale, complex systems are considered essential. However, in recent years, more and more new problems seem to crop op after these infrastructures were opened up to market forces. What has happened in these...

Durable Reliability of Jack-up Platforms. The impact of Fatigue, Fracture and Effect of Extreme Environmental Loads on the Structural Reliability

A variety of factors is governing the operational conditions of jack-up platforms. The platforms are moved to different locations, which are causing changes in water depth, environmental and seabed conditions, drilling depths, payload etc. Insight should be gained in how the different factors affect the lifetime in order to be able to make a...

Securing the public interest in electricity generation markets. The myths of the invisible hand and the copper plate

Two aspects of investment in generation capacity in liberalized electricity markets are investigated: the question of whether investment will be sufficient to meet society's goals for the reliability of electricity supply (generation adequacy) and the question of how to coordinate investment in electricity generation capacity in a competitive...

A reliability based design methodology for extreme responses of offshore wind turbines

Reliability Related Research on Plastic IC-Packages: A Test Chip Approach : A Research in the Development of Silicon Test Dies for Measurement and Comparison of Molded IC-Package Reliability, Een onderzoek gericht op de ontwikkeling van silicium test-chips geschikt voor het meten en vergelijken van de bedrijfszekerheid van plastic IC omhullingen

Cyclic compression of imperfect steel plates