Raising the bar in seismic design: cost–benefit analysis of alternative design methodologies and earthquake-resistant technologies

The severe socio-economic impact of recent earthquakes has represented a tough reality check, further confirming the mismatch between society expectations and reality of seismic performance of modern buildings. Life-safety code-compliant design criteria are not enough when dealing with new structures. To raise the bar in terms of structural...

The Many Roles of the Relaxation time Parameter in Force based Models of Pedestrian Dynamics

In force based models of pedestrian traffic, the relaxation time, ?, is related to the time it takes a pedestrian to adapt its motion to its preferences. An example of this is linear acceleration, but ? is also connected to how the agent adjusts to spatial variations in its preferred velocity, and affects evasive maneuvers. These many roles of ?...

Global Chassis Control and Braking Control using Tyre Forces Measurement

Mobility and traffic safety is a major concern in the society today. Many accidents take place because the vehicle is not following the trajectory that the driver desires. To avoid such accidents, an increasing number of active safety systems are introduced in modern vehicles. Still, most of the time, those systems are designed independently,...