Search results for "Ability"
showing 10 items of 18559 documents
Modelling Rainfall-induced Shallow Landslides at Different Scales Using SLIP - Part II
2016
Abstract This paper (Part II) is companion of another one published in this Conference (Part I). Both the papers describe the approach followed in the application of the SLIP model at different scales to foresee the triggering mechanism of rainfall-induced shallow landslides. In particular, this paper (Part II) focuses on the modeling at medium and large scale (regional and national level). The possibility of using the same means to model the phenomenon from the scale of the representative elementary volume (i.e. flume laboratory tests) to the medium and large scale (hundreds or thousands square kilometers wide areas) allowed from the one hand to strengthen the model assumptions and on the …
The influence of oversizing on maintenance cost in wastewater treatment plants
2021
Abstract Management of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) is a complex process, not only from a technical point of view but also from an economic point of view. There are several factors that influence the wastewater treatment process and can cause an increase in management costs. One of these factors is the treatment capacity, in particular the WWTPs’ oversizing problem. The difference between the design population equivalent (p.e.) and the actual p.e. treated generates imbalances in the wastewater treatment process costs. This paper analyses the influence that oversizing has on the maintenance costs for WWTPs in the Valencia region (Spain). Through an econometric approach, the behaviour …
Preventive maintenance versus cost of repairs in asset management: An efficiency analysis in wastewater treatment plants
2020
Abstract The operation and management of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) is of paramount importance to guarantee the sustainability of water resources. Just like any other production process, wastewater treatment process involves different costs, such as: energy, personnel, maintenance and reagents. Regarding maintenance costs, they have become an issue of great concern to many operators in the last years. Maintaining the facilities in good condition ensures the proper performance of these infrastructures and reduces the risk of failures. It should be known that equipment breakdowns imply an increase in operating costs, with a high risk of generating an environmental damage due to the m…
Ensuring the Reliability of an Autonomous Vehicle
2017
International audience; In automotive applications, several components, offering different services, can be composed in order to handle one specific task (autonomous driving for example). Nevertheless, component composition is not straightforward and is subject to the occurrence ofbugs resulting from components or services incompatibilities for instance. Hence, bugs detection in component-based systems at thedesign level is very important, particularly, when the developed system concerns automotive applications supporting critical services.In this paper, we propose a formal approach for modeling and verifying the reliability of an autonomous vehicle system, communicatingcontinuously with of…
Exploring relationships between grid cell size and accuracy for debris-flow susceptibility models: a test in the Giampilieri catchment (Sicily, Italy)
2016
Debris flows are among the most hazardous phenomena in nature, requiring the preparation of suscep- tibility models in order to cope with this severe threat. The aim of this research was to verify whether a grid cell-based susceptibility model was capable of predicting the debris- flow initiation sites in the Giampilieri catchment (10 km2), which was hit by a storm on the 1st October 2009, resulting in more than one thousand landslides. This kind of event is to be considered as recurrent in the area as attested by historical data. Therefore, predictive models have been prepared by using forward stepwise binary logistic regression (BLR), a landslide inventory and a set of geo- environmental …
Helices of disaster memory: How forgetting and remembering influence tropical cyclone response in Mauritius
2020
Abstract Tropical cyclones have had a considerable impact on Mauritius. Large cyclones are relatively rare, and in popular imagination are thought to hit Mauritius every 15 years. Yet it has been over 25 years since the last cyclone widely considered as ‘significant’. Critically, there is little known about the role of memory in responses to cyclones and details regarding responses to past cyclones in Mauritian history are scant. This article examines past experiences and impacts of cyclones in Mauritius, as well as contemporary perceptions of cyclone vulnerability and memories of historical cyclones. The analysis draws on both community interviews and archival research conducted in Mauriti…
Terrorism in the Website
2020
Without any doubt, terrorism causes higher levels of anxiety and very well enhances our fears as never before. The post 9/11 context witnesses the multiplication of xenophobic expressions, such as Islamophobia or tourist-phobia, only to name a few. These expressions result from a culture of intolerance, which not only was enrooted in the ideological core of western capitalism but was accelerated just after 9/11. Some voices emphasize the needs of employing technology to make this world a safer place. This chapter goes in a contradictory direction. The authors focus on the ethical limitations of technologies when they are subordinated to the ideals of zero-risk society. Echoing Sunstein and …
Selection of time windows in the horizontal-to-vertical noise spectral ratio by means of cluster analysis
2016
The selection of the elementary analysis windows in continuous noise recordings for optimal estimation of the mean horizontal‐to‐vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) curve is generally performed by visual inspection of HVSR curves considered as functions of time. Starting from full‐length records, HVSR curves are determined in consecutive time windows of appropriate lengths. Time windows with HVSR curves that are anomalous on the basis of a simple visual inspection are generally ignored in the computation of the average HVSR curve. It is often very difficult to optimize the selection of time windows to be used for the calculation of the HVSR curve representative of a site. The use of nonobjective…
A risk assessment proposal for underground cavities in Hard Soils-Soft Rocks
2018
Abstract Underground calcarenite quarries in Marsala (Sicily) have been involved in a number of collapses that have, seriously damaged numerous buildings. The stability conditions were therefore examined in order to assess risk conditions within the historical centre of the town and the surrounding areas, which are subject to urban expansion. Starting with an extensive collection of historical information, the research was carried out through surveys of the cavities, systematic sampling of material, petrographic analysis and geotechnical testing. The results of laboratory tests and in situ investigations provided a geotechnical characterization of both the intact material and the rock mass.…
Sustainable growth and environmental catastrophes
2017
Abstract In the standard AK growth model we introduce the threat of an ecological catastrophe and study the consequences for the economic variables in the long-run. We extend the basic framework by considering two environmental externalities: the first one is local and gives account of the marginal damage from emissions flow; the second one is aggregate, or global, and relates to the extreme damage which may happen if the accumulated stock of pollutants is on the threshold of a worldwide catastrophe. In this context dominated by market failures, we focus on the socially optimal solution and the search of conditions for sustainability. We identify the efficient balanced growth path, which ma…