Reliability Based Design Optimization on Quay Walls by re-calculating partial factors

In the years to come, the Netherlands will face a substantial challenge as over 1,500 kilometers of aging quay walls and sheet pile walls approach the end of their technical lifespan. Infrastructure managers anticipate that the necessary replacements will necessitate investments amounting to billions of euros. Moreover, this task carries a...

Fatigue Safety Factors for Dynamic Power Cables: A reliability based approach

In contrast to traditional power cables for bottom-founded offshore wind turbines, power cables for floating wind turbines penetrate the water column and are exposed to cyclic loading. Due to the dynamic nature of the cable loading, the cables are prone to fatigue failure. Since the evaluation of the fatigue life of complex structures, like...

Reliability-based Assessment for Fender Systems

PIANC has published several working group reports related to the design of fender systems. The work of PIANC WG33 is widely accepted by the industry and has been used to design marine structures worldwide. However, the existing design approach does not distinguish uncertainties in fender engineering, e.g. uncertainties related to vessel sizes,...

Opdrijven, opbollen, opbarsten: Improving the uplift model for the assessment of internal erosion

Internal erosion is a frequent cause of dike failure, also known as piping or backward erosion. Uplift is considered a submechanism of internal erosion, together with heave and piping, where all three submechanisms must occur for the dike to reach a failure condition. The principle of the uplift phenomenon is straightforward: it occurs when high...

Partial safety factors for berthing velocity and loads on marine structures

Design methods for marine structures have evolved into load and resistance factor design, however existing partial safety factors related to berthing velocity and loads have not been verified and validated by measurement campaigns. In this study, field observations of modern seagoing vessels berthing in Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Wilhelmshaven...

Wood properties from roundwood to timber engineering

Measuring and assessing wood properties during the production chain is getting more and more important for an optimal use of the resource. Over the years, research has been performed with the focus on establishing important wood properties, with the final goal of an optimized use in timber engineering. It is...

Finding the strength of glass: A mechanical and fractographic research of glass' biaxial strength for structural purposes

Over the years, glass has been increasingly used as a structural building material. Structural calculations on glass are conservative because the strength is quite uncertain. Weibull plots of the strength of glass can range from 20 MPa to 150 MPa. This is caused by flaws, which are not visibile to the human eye and therefore it is difficult to...

Asphalt Mixture Fatigue Testing: Influence of Test Type and Specimen Size

Fatigue characterization of an asphalt mixture is commonly estimated by laboratory fatigue tests. Based on the classical fatigue analysis, fatigue lives obtained from different test devices are not comparable even when they are performed at the same test conditions. It is believed that there are two main reasons causing the difference in fatigue...

Reliability of Quay Walls

A committee of Civieltechnisch Centrum Uitvoering Research en Regelgeving (CUR) is currently (2012) working on the update of the handbook Quay Walls (CUR 211). In the past the partial safety factors in this book were derived using a spring model, but new developments enable to use Finite Element Methods (FEM) to model sheet-pile structures and...

Probabilistic design of breakwaters in shallow, hurricane-prone areas

One of the failure mechanisms of a rubble mound breakwater is the failure of its armour layer. In order to determine the stability of an armour layer, the design load has to be defined, which is in fact the wave that attacks the structure. Being a highly stochastic phenomenon, the wave action is not easily defined, while there is always some...

Experimental and numerical analysis of a beam made of adhesively bonded tailor-made blanks

For aircraft structures, it is clear that the design and the selection of materials play an important role in the performance of the aircraft. The production costs are also important. The concept of tailor-made blanks (TMBs) is based on the use of dedicated blanks, made of different alloys and/or thickness in order to satisfy different demands...

Probabilistic design in hydraulic engineering

Integraal ontwerp leidingen en riolen: Grondmechanische randvoorwaarden

Veiligheid duinwaterkeringen: Kader en aanpak

Rationalisation of safety and serviceability factors in structural codes

Suitable methods for the determination of partial safety factors were investigated. The safety formats adopted in a number of national codes and standards are reviewed. Safety provisions currently used in the design of aircraft, ships and structures for nuclear energy plants are discussed. A study has been made of various constraints which...

Duwvaart in kanalen, deel VII: Koersstabiliteit van de duweenheid