Stochastic structural mechanics : US Austria joint seminar, May 4-5, 1987, Boca Raton, Florida, USA ; [papers presented at the US Austria Joint Seminar on Stochastic Structural Mechanics, held on May 4 and 5, 1987

This volume is a collection of papers presented at the U.S.-Austria Joint Seminar on Stochastic Structural Mechanics held on May 4 and 5, 1987. The general theme of the two-day program was the applications of probability and statistics to structural mechanics. Within this general theme a great variety of subject matters were covered, ranging from analytical and computational algorithms to specific problems in different branches of engineering. The format of the bi-national seminar with limited attendance permitted ample time for presentation and discussion. The discussion was als6 contributed by several participants of another bi-national seminar, the U.S.-Japan Joint Seminar on Stochastic Approaches in Earthquake Engineering, which followed immediately on May 6 and 7, 1987. The scheduling of the two seminars back-to-back enhanced greatly the exchange among the experts in engineering stochastics from the three nations. The Joint Seminar was organized according to the U.S.-Austria Cooperative Science Program established in 1984. We are indebted to the following government agencies and organizations for financial assistance, including the National Science Foundation, and the Florida Atlantic University Foundation in the United States, and Fonds zur Forderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Land Tirol, Bundeswirtschaftskammer, Bundesministerium flir Wissenschaft und Forschung, and Osterreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft in Austria. Most credits, however, must be accorded to each of the authors whose contributions were the very basis of any success we might be able to claim. Our special thanks are due to Mrs. Front Matter....Pages N2-XI A Seismic Damage Model for Masonry Structures....Pages 1-21 Nonstationary Spectral Response of Dam Reservoir to Random Excitation....Pages 22-51 Reliability-Based Optimization of Structural Systems....Pages 52-65 Response Variability of Linear Structures due to Spatial Variation of Elastic Properties....Pages 66-83 The stochastic finite element method in structural reliability....Pages 84-109 A Perspective on Modeling Rotorcraft in Turbulence....Pages 110-135 Stochastic Analysis of Long-Span Bridges with Active Control....Pages 136-164 Probability Densities of the Response of Non-Linear Structures under Stochastic Dynamic Excitation....Pages 165-184 Fatigue of Welded Steel in Sea Water as Applicable to Offshore Structures....Pages 185-211 Time-Dependent Power Spectral Densities of Randomly Vibrating Kirchhoff-Plates....Pages 212-225 Earthquake Excited Vibrations of Elasto-Plastic Structures: A spectral Approach....Pages 226-242 Modeling of Earthquake Site Ground Motion Parameters Important for Damage Estimation....Pages 243-258 Parameter Estimation and Statistical Linearization....Pages 259-267 Exact Solutions for Nonlinear Systems under Parametric and External White-Noise Excitations....Pages 268-280 Application of Stochastic Averaging for Nonlinear Dynamical Systems with High Damping....Pages 281-310 Estimation of Modulating Functions of Earthquake Records....Pages 311-326 Response of Tall Buildings to Wind Excitation: Considering Coupled Modes and Soil-Structure Interaction....Pages 327-345 Response of Offshore Towers to Nonstationary Ice Excitation....Pages 346-370 On Flutter and Buffeting Mechanisms in Long-Span Bridges....Pages 371-387 On Efficient Computational Schemes to Calculate Structural Failure Probabilities....Pages 388-410 Wind Engineering: Recent Investigations, and Research Needs....Pages 411-425 Effect of Current on Spectrum of Breaking Waves in Water of Finite Depth....Pages 426-453 Structure-borne Noise Generation and Transmission....Pages 454-470 Sensitivity of Expected Exceedance Rate of SDOF-System Response to Statistical Uncertainties of Loading and System Parameters....Pages 471-486 Random Vibrations of Dams and Offshore Structures: A Nonstationary Spectral Approach....Pages 487-507 Back Matter....Pages 508-509 Under the general theme "applications of probability and statistics to structural mechanics", the collected 25 original papers in this volume range from analytical and computational methods to specific problems in different branches of engineering. Examples include exact and approximate solution techniques for nonlinear systems, modeling random loads in seismic, wind turbulence, ocean and ice environments, structural damage processes, system estimation, structure-fluid interaction, structural optimization, structural active control, noise transmission, structural reliability, stochastic variation of structural properties, and stochastic finite elements