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Free, publicly-accessible full text available February 1, 2027
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Abstract This chapter presents a comprehensive approach to optimizing steel usage for reducing the environmental impact of building structures, aligned with sustainable development goals. The study focuses on developing the structural design of members with optimization methods to reduce steel usage, leading to lightweight structural systems while minimizing carbon footprints in the built environment. This study identifies optimum cross-sectional dimensions of structural sections to withstand lateral wind loads. For that purpose, a nonlinear programming solver is used. This solver is robust in finding the minimum of a constrained nonlinear multivariate function. The volume of the structural steel is taken as the objective function to ensure sustainability, while two constraints of demand to capacity indices of structural members as a strength condition and inter-story drift ratio as a serviceability constraint are taken to meet performance criteria, such as safety and cost-effectiveness designing process. The results show that this optimized design tool can effectively reduce the weight of structural steel usage, paving the way to achieve both sustainable and resilient buildings.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2026
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Abstract Climate-change-imposed challenges in the form of heightened frequency and intensity of weather events exert additional pressure on securing the imperative continuous and reliable power supply, leading to increased power outages. This research proposes a comprehensive framework for enhancing the resilience of electric power networks (EPNs) through reliability-based risk assessment, promoting predictions and proactive decisions. The presented research discusses weather phenomena, their association with climate change, and their projected impacts. The numerical weather prediction model, WRF 3.4.1, with a 4 km resolution cell grid, gives a more accurate projection of high winds’ frequency and intensity. The simulation period from 2086 to 2099 is based on a reference control period spanning from 2000 to 2013, with adjustments made to background conditions using climate model output consistent with projections for the late century, a pseudo-global warming (PGW) technique. The presented research focuses on the wooden power distribution poles. The reliability assessment approach employs fragility development and analysis against wind scenarios through advanced modeling techniques and statistical analysis used to mimic historical and projected wind scenarios and to allow numerous factors on both the demand and capacity sides and their inherent uncertainties to be considered. The annual probability of failure is obtained by performing a mathematical convolution of the fragility and the hazard curves, showing the reflection of the effects of climate change on the annual probability of failure. Scaling these results to a system-level resilience assessment will facilitate the flexible energy design strategies integration and allow smoother net-zero standards incorporation and adaptation to the changing environmental conditions. This understanding will allow the decision-makers to evaluate the critical locations within a distribution line and plan to address the vulnerabilities by hardening the assets or implementing modern microgrid techniques or distributed energy resource integration.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2026
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Free, publicly-accessible full text available February 1, 2026
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ABSTRACT As technological advances appear, it is desirable to integrate them into new engineering education teaching methods, aiming to enhance students' comprehension and engagement with complex subjects. Augmented reality (AR) emerges as a promising tool in this effort, offering students opportunities to visualize and conceptualize challenging topics that are otherwise too abstract or difficult to grasp. Within civil engineering curriculums, structural analysis, a junior‐level course forming the foundation of many other courses, poses challenges in visualization and understanding. This paper investigates the development of a mobile AR application intended to improve the conceptual understanding of structural analysis material. This application is designed to overlay schematic representations of structural components (i.e., beams, columns, frames, and trusses) onto images of iconic local campus buildings, allowing students to interactively explore exaggerated deflections and internal and external forces under various loading conditions. By contextualizing structural analysis calculations within familiar settings, the goal is to leverage a sense of relevance and place‐based attachments in students' learning. Furthermore, the paper examines the development process and usability of the AR application, providing insights into its implementation in educational settings. Experimental results, including comparisons with a control group, are analyzed to assess the efficacy of the AR application in improving students' understanding of structural analysis concepts. Furthermore, the paper examines the development process and usability of the AR application, providing insights into its implementation in educational settings. Perspectives from structural analysis faculty members are also discussed, shedding light on the potential benefits and challenges associated with integrating AR technology into engineering education. In addition, the study highlights the value of place‐based learning, wherein students engage with real‐world structures in their immediate environment, fostering deeper connections between theoretical concepts and practical applications. Overall, this research contributes to the growing body of literature on innovative teaching approaches in engineering education and highlights the potential of AR as a valuable tool for enhancing student learning experiences in structural analysis and related disciplines.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available July 1, 2026
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