Civil engineering structures may vibrate due to different sources of excitations such as earthquakes, wind, traffic, humans, etc. The resulting vibrations may not be acceptable from the perspective of vibration comfort or can even impair the structure's safety. Depending on the excitation mechanism, anti-vibration measures range from increasing the structural damping using local dampers, decoup…
Levees are built on many rivers and mountain torrents to protect populations against floods. During medium floods, a well-constructed levee offers sufficient protection without requiring additional hydraulic structures. But this same levee represents a source of danger during high floods, since there is a risk of overtopping. Water that spills over a levee may create a breach that could potenti…
Dams are critical structures in the sense that damage or breach of even a small dam may cause an unacceptable loss of life and property. Therefore, the safety of dams over the intended lifespan is of utmost importance for unrestricted operation. The basic prerequisites for any safe and successful operation of a dam include state-of-the-art design, experimental investigations of the construction…