A numerical approach is presented for an inequality problem arising in the earthquake analysis of adjacent buildings. This problem concerns the unilateral contact-impact between neighboring buildings, when friction and P-delta effects are taken into account. The proposed numerical approach is based on a double discretization, in space and time, and on optimization methods. First, the Finite Ele...

current innovative lateral load carrying systems for tall buildings are those in which the lateral drift is limited to an allowable value without considerable influence on economy. this aim is achieved by using special systems capable of using maximum stiffness and strength capacity of individual structural elements. an effective structural solution in this respect is the use of outrigger brace...

CRIBA is a project that aims at industrializing thermal renovation processes of buildings. It consists in designing and configuring make-to-order insulated panels that will be installed on the external facade of the buildings to meet the thermal renovation objectives. Our study provides an optimization model that comprehensively plans supply chain network, which delivers insulated panels to the...

Seismic resiliency of new buildings has improved over the years due to enhancements in seismic codes and design practices. However, existing buildings designed and built under earlier codes are vulnerable and require a performance-based screening and retrofit prioritization. The performance modifiers considered are soft story, weak story, and the quality of construction, which are collated thro...

Our hypothesis is that by equipping certain agents in a multi-agent system controlling an intelligent building with automated decision support, two important factors will be increased. The rst is energy saving in the building. The second is customer value|how the people in the building experience the effects of the actions of the agents. We give evidence for the truth of this hypothesis through...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain is characterized by excess deposition of amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta), particularly the 42-amino acid peptide [Abeta(1-42)] and by extensive oxidative stress. Several sources of the oxidative stress and inflammatory cascades are likely, including that induced by advanced glycation end products, microglial activation, and by Abeta(1-42) and its sequelae. This revie...

We prove that the Lorenz equations support a strange attractor, as conjectured by Ed-ward Lorenz in 1963. We also prove that the attractor is robust, i.e., it persists under small perturbations of the coeecients in the underlying diierential equations. The proof is based on a combination of normal form theory and rigorous numerical computations.

By applying the undetermined coefficient method, this paper finds homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits in the Chen system. It analytically demonstrates that the Chen system has one heteroclinic orbit of Ši’lnikov type that connects two nontrivial singular points. The Ši’lnikov criterion guarantees that the Chen system has Smale horseshoes and the horseshoe chaos. In addition, there also exists on...