The paper reports progress in the development of a practical probabilistic model for the estimation of expected annual damage induced by hurricane winds in residential structures. The estimation of the damage is accomplished in several steps. First, basic damage modes for components of specific building types are defined. Second, the damage modes are combined in possible damage states, whose probabilities of occurrence are calculated as functions of wind speeds from Monte Carlo simulations conducted on engineering numerical models of typical houses. The paper describes the conceptual framework for the proposed model, and illustrates its application for a specific building type with hypothetical probabilistic input. Actual probabilistic input must be based on laboratory studies, postdamage surveys, insurance claims data, engineering analyses and judgment, and Monte Carlo simulation methods. The proposed component-based model is flexible and transparent. It is therefore capable of being readily scrutinized....

The purpose of this study is to analyze the heat-affected zone in materials such as meat samples, araldite resin-simulating tissue phantoms, and fiber composites irradiated using a mode-locked short pulse laser with a pulse width of 200 ps. The radial surface temperature profiles are compared with that of a continuous wave (CW) laser of the same average power. The short pulse laser results in a more localized heating than a continuous laser with a corresponding high peak temperature. A parametric study addressing the effect of pulse train frequency, material thickness, and amount of scatterers and absorbing agent in the medium and different initial sample temperatures is performed, and the measured temperature profiles are compared with the theoretical non-Fourier hyperbolic formulations and Fourier parabolic heat conduction formulations for both CW and pulsed laser cases.

Florida’s population growth in recent decades has produced a steady increase in the concentration of population and infrastructure along its coastline. During this growth period, the vulnerability of the Florida coastline to hurricane impact has been amply demonstrated. The aftermaths unveiled the underlying potential for dramatic economic loss, which is disruptive for the state economy and has created a crisis in the property insurance market. To aid in preparedness efforts, the state of Florida commissioned a group of experts to develop the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model (FPHLM). This paper describes how hurricane damage prediction techniques were developed and implemented in the vulnerability module of the FPHLM. The module consists of an external damage simulation engine coupled with internal damage and contents damage simulation engines. These components are described in this paper.

Visual examination of simultaneous temperature traces from a rake of cold wires placed across a turbulent boundary layer had enabled the identification of coherent temperature fronts. An X-wirelcold-wire arrangement was used simultaneously with the rake to provide measurements of the velocity fluctuations u (longitudinal) and v (normal) and the temperature fluctuation θ. Conditional averages of u, v, θ and products uv, uθ, vθ were obtained by application of conditional techniques based on the detection of the temperature fronts using information obtained at only one point in space. These averages, obtained at various positions across the layer, have been compared with those obtained when the rake was used to detect the fronts. The comparison has indicated that none of the one-point detection techniques is in good quantitative agreement with the rake detection technique, the largest correspondence between the rake technique and any ofthe other one-point techniques being only 51 yo. With the exception of the hole technique used in conjunction with the quadrant decomposition analysis, conditional averages obtained from one-point techniques are in reasonable qualitative agreement with those deduced using the rake.