S Kumar

P K Kapur

R B Garg

With better computing facilities now available, there is an ever-increasing need to ensure that elegant theoretical results on hardware reliability are computationally available. This book discusses those aspects which have relevance to computing systems and those where numerical computation was a problem. It is also well known that nearly 70% of the cost goes into software development and hence software reliability assumes special importance. The book not only gives an extensive review of the literature on software reliability but also provides direction in developing models which are flexible and can be used in a variety of testing environments. Besides, several alternative formulations of the release time problem are discussed along with variants such as allocation of testing effort resources to different modules of the software, or the testing effort control problem. Software reliability has now emerged as an independent discipline and requires a strong partnership between computer scientists, statisticians and operational researchers. This aspect is broadly highlighted in the book. Contents:Preliminary Concepts and BackgroundReplacement Policies with Minimal RepairsProblems with Applications to Computing SystemsSoftware Reliability Growth Models Based on NHPPRelease PoliciesNumerical Computations in Renewal and Reliability Theory Readership: Applied mathematicians. Keywords:Hardware Reliability;Software Reliability;Non-Homogeneous Poisson Process;Growth Models;Stochastic Process;Reliability Indicators;Optimization in Reliability;Numerical Computation;Release Policies;Reliability;Software Reliability Growth;Models;Renewal Equation;Numerical Solution;Stochastic Models;Minimal Repairs;Replacement Policies;Performance Based Reliability;Blak Box Models

Contributions to Hardware and Software Reliability

Fernando Pacheco-Torgal

Joao Labrincha

Paulo B. Lourenco

P Chindaprasirt

Masonry walls constitute the interface between the building’s interior and the outdoor environment. Masonry walls are traditionally composed of fired-clay bricks (solid or perforated) or blocks (concrete or earth-based), but in the past (and even in the present) they were often associated as needing an extra special thermal and acoustical insulation layer. However, over more recent years investigations on thermal and acoustical features has led to the development of new improved bricks and blocks that no longer need these insulation layers. Traditional masonry units (fired-clay bricks, concrete or earth-based blocks) that don’t offer improved performance in terms of thermal and acoustical insulation are a symbol of a low-technology past, that are far removed from the demands of sustainable construction. This book provides an up-to-date state-of-the-art review on the eco-efficiency of masonry units, particular emphasis is placed on the design, properties, performance, durability and LCA of these materials. Since masonry units are also an excellent way to reuse bulk industrial waste the book will be important in the context of the Revised Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC which states that the minimum reuse and recycling targets for construction and demolition waste (CDW) should be at least 70% by 2020. On the 9th of March 2011 the European Union approved the Regulation (EU) 305/2011, known as the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and it will be enforced after the 1st of July 2013. The future commercialization of construction materials in Europe makes their environmental assessment mandatory meaning that more information related to the environmental performance of building materials is much needed. Provides an authoritative guide to the eco-efficiency of masonry units Examines the reuse of waste materials Covers a range of materials including, clay, cement, earth and pumice

Design, Properties and Durability

Eco-efficient Masonry Bricks and Blocks

This book is a collection of 13 articles, written by experts, on different aspects of the physics and applications of liquid crystals. In addition to giving self-contained review articles with good bibliography, the authors have discussed the anticipated or highly important and desirable breakthroughs in the near future in their respective fields. The book should provide readers with a good starting point, insight, and an indicator of what current important problems are. Good researchers should benefit in fine tuning their efforts to test the ideas put forward by the authors. Contents:Anisotropy of the Nematic-Smectic A Phase Transition (B S Andereck)Thermal Investigations of Phase Transitions in Thermotropic Liquid Crystals (J Thoen)Numerical Studies of Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena in Liquid Crystals (C Dasgupta)High-Resolution Calorimetric Studies at Phase Transitions of Alkylcyanobiphenyl Liquid Crystals Confined to Submicron Size Cylindrical Cavities (D Finotello & G S Iannacchione)Physical Properties of Thin Substrate-Free Liquid-Crystal Films (T Stoebe & C C Huang)Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals: From the Plane Wave to the Multisoliton Limit (I Muševic et al.)The Optical Properties of Chiral Liquid Crystals (K A Suresh)Patterns in Thin Liquid Crystal Films and the Divergence (“Surfacelike”) Elasticity (O D Lavrentovich & V M Pergamenshchik)Liquid Crystal Defects in a Magnetic Field (G S Ranganath)Saddle-Splay Elasticity in Nematic Liquid Crystals (G P Crawford & Zumer)Rheology and Rheo-Optics of Polymer Liquid Crystals (M Srinivasarao)Recent Advances and Future Directions of NMR Spectroscopy of Molecules Oriented in Liquid Crystals (C L Khetrapal)Improvement of the Viewing Angle for Display Devices with Grey Scale (P J Bos) Readership: Physicists and chemists active in the field of liquid crystals. keywords: “The collection of papers provides a comprehensive review for experimentalists and theoreticians who are interested in the latest developments in the field of thermotropic liquid crystals.” Zeitschrift für Kristallographie

S Kumar

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