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IRF'2013 Funchal/Portugal 2013
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PROCEEDINGS 4th International Conference on INTEGRITY, RELIABILITY & FAILURE (Funchal, 23-27 June 2013) |
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Editors Preface As the engineering community continues to cross the boundaries of known practices, materials and manufacturing techniques into the frontiers of new functional materials, environments and applications, the opportunities for catastrophic failures will inevitably increase. If our knowledge of how to engineer systems, structures and components to minimize or prevent catastrophic failure is to keep pace with modern manufacturing technologies, the demanding applications, and the intolerance of a safety conscious society, we must continue our efforts to develop and use superior materials, apply reliable analytical techniques and validate these with sound experimental tools. It is with this in mind that this series of conferences has been organised. The objectives of this gathering are to provide a forum for the discussion and dissemination of recent advances in assessing the integrity, reliability and failure of engineering structures, components, and assemblies, foster research in these areas, and promote international co-operation among scientists and engineers in the field. The goal is to enable concerned researchers and scientists from all over the world to exchange ideas on mechanics, materials and design as they relate to system integrity and reliability. This fourth international conference, which is sponsored by the University of Porto, the University of Toronto and the University of Madeira, is part of a prestigious series of Integrity Reliability and Failure conferences coordinated by the International Scientific Committee on Mechanics and Materials in Design. The conference attracted over 300 participants with 380 accepted submissions from 45 different countries around the world. These papers were presented in June 23-27, 2013 in the magnificent city of Funchal, Madeira. The conference themes which address integrity, reliability and failure focused on Analytical and Numerical tools, Testing and Diagnostics, Surface and Interface Engineering, Sensors and Instrumentation, Tribology, Mechanical Design and Prototyping, Modes of Failure, Composite Materials, Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials, Biomechanics, Energy and Thermo-Fluid Systems, Impact and Crashworthiness and Case Studies. We are particularly indebted to the authors and special guests for their plenary lectures and presentations. Each of the more than 380 contributions offered opportunities for thorough discussions with the authors. We acknowledge all of the participants, who contributed with innovations, new research approaches, novel modeling and simulation efforts, and invaluable critical comments. We are also indebted to the outstanding plenary lecturers who highlighted the conference themes with their contributions: Professor Xiong Zhang (Tsinghua University, P.R. China), Professor E.A. Elsayed (Rutgers University, USA) and Professor Noritsugu Umehra (Nagoya University, Japan). We also take this opportunity to thank the members of the International Scientific Committee and reviewers for their time and effort. Last but by no means least, we offer our sincere gratitude to the symposia organisers for their contribution to the success of the event and the local organising committee for attending to many aspects of the conference demands. For all of them, we are truly very grateful. Shaker A. Meguid and J.F. Silva Gomes Funchal / Madeira, June 2013 |