This volume presents the proceedings of the 18th International Probabilistic Workshop (IPW), which was held in Guimarães, Portugal in May 2021. Probabilistic methods are currently of crucial importance for research and developments in the field of engineering, which face challenges presented by new materials and technologies and rapidly changing societal needs and values. Contemporary needs related to, for example, performance-based design, service-life design, life-cycle analysis, product optimization, assessment of existing structures and structural robustness give rise to new developments as well as accurate and practically applicable probabilistic and statistical engineering methods to support these developments. These proceedings are a valuable resource for anyone interested in contemporary developments in the field of probabilistic engineering applications.

The mathematical verification of the safety of structures can be done by determining the probability of failure or by using safety elements. Observed damages and collapses are usually assessed within the framework of expert reports, which seems reasonable due to the large number of unique structures in the construction industry. However, there should also be an examination of observed safety across all structures. Therefore, in this book the collapse frequencies are determined for different types of structures, such as bridges, dams, tunnels, retaining structures and buildings. The collapse frequency, like the failure probability, belongs to stochasticity. Therefore, the observed mean collapse frequencies and the calculated mean failure probabilities are compared. This comparison shows that the collapse frequencies are usually lower than the calculated failure probabilities. In addition, core damage frequencies and probabilities are given to extend the comparison to another technical product.

This book gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of effective methods of calculation, resource-saving technologies, and advanced materials in civil and environmental engineering, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the XVIII International Scientific Conference Current Issues of Civil and Environmental Engineering “Lviv- Košice – Rzeszów”, held in Rzeszów, Poland, on September 6–8, 2023. It covers highly diverse topics, including structural shaping and optimization; aspects of structural behavior and modeling; advanced analysis methods; experimental tests and numerical simulations; design codes, in particular Eurocodes and other national and regional limit state codes; and highway and bridges engineering. It also discusses modern architectural and structural solutions; innovative materials and products; durability and maintenance; fabrication and erection; sustainability in construction; renewable energy sources; heat, gas, and water supply; ventilation and air-conditioning; ecological and energy-saving technologies, modern water purification, and treatment technologies; and the protection of water ecosystems. This book, which was selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, highlights numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaborations.

Life-Cycle of Structures and Infrastructure Systems contains the lectures and papers presented at IALCCE 2023- The Eighth International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering, held at Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy, 2-6 July, 2023. This book contains the full papers of 514 contributions presented at IALCCE 2023, including the Fazlur R. Khan Plenary Lecture, nine Keynote Lectures, and 504 technical papers from 45 countries. The papers cover recent advances and cutting-edge research in the field of life-cycle civil engineering, including emerging concepts and innovative applications related to life-cycle design, assessment, inspection, monitoring, repair, maintenance, rehabilitation, and management of structures and infrastructure systems under uncertainty. Major topics covered include life-cycle safety, reliability, risk, resilience and sustainability, life-cycle damaging processes, life-cycle design and assessment, life-cycle inspection and monitoring, life-cycle maintenance and management, life-cycle performance of special structures, life-cycle cost of structures and infrastructure systems, and life-cycle-oriented computational tools, among others. This Open Access Book provides both an up-to-date overview of the field of life-cycle civil engineering and significant contributions to the process of making more rational decisions to mitigate the life-cycle risk and improve the life-cycle reliability, resilience, and sustainability of structures and infrastructure systems exposed to multiple natural and human-made hazards in a changing climate. It will serve as a valuable reference to all concerned with life-cycle of civil engineering systems, including students, researchers, practicioners, consultants, contractors, decision makers, and representatives of managing bodies and public authorities from all branches of civil engineering.

Formal Methods in Computer-Aided Design (FMCAD) is a conference series on the theory and applications of formal methods in hardware and system verification. FMCAD provides a leading forum to researchers in academia and industry for presenting and discussing ground-breaking methods, technologies, theoretical results, and tools for reasoning formally about computing systems. FMCAD covers formal aspects of computer-aided system design including verification, specification, synthesis, and testing.

In 1978 Edwin T. Jaynes and Myron Tribus initiated a series of workshops to exchange ideas and recent developments in technical aspects and applications of Bayesian probability theory. The first workshop was held at the University of Wyoming in 1981 organized by C.R. Smith and W.T. Grandy. Due to its success, the workshop was held annually during the last 18 years. Over the years, the emphasis of the workshop shifted gradually from fundamental concepts of Bayesian probability theory to increasingly realistic and challenging applications. The 18th international workshop on Maximum Entropy and Bayesian Methods was held in Garching / Munich (Germany) (27-31. July 1998). Opening lectures by G. Larry Bretthorst and by Myron Tribus were dedicated to one of th the pioneers of Bayesian probability theory who died on the 30 of April 1998: Edwin Thompson Jaynes. Jaynes revealed and advocated the correct meaning of 'probability' as the state of knowledge rather than a physical property. This inter pretation allowed him to unravel longstanding mysteries and paradoxes. Bayesian probability theory, "the logic of science" - as E.T. Jaynes called it - provides the framework to make the best possible scientific inference given all available exper imental and theoretical information. We gratefully acknowledge the efforts of Tribus and Bretthorst in commemorating the outstanding contributions of E.T. Jaynes to the development of probability theory.

Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground comprises a collection of 112 papers, four general reports on the symposium themes, the Fujita Lecture, three Special Lectures and the Bright Spark Lecture presented at the Tenth International Symposium on Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground, held in Cambridge, United Kingdom, 27-29 June 2022. The symposium is the latest in a series which began in New Delhi in 1994, and was followed by symposia in London (1996), Tokyo (1999), Toulouse (2002), Amsterdam (2005), Shanghai (2008), Rome (2011), Seoul (2014) and Sao Paulo (2017). This was organised by the Geotechnical Research Group at the University of Cambridge, under the auspices of the Technical Committee TC204 of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground includes contributions from more than 25 countries on research, design and construction of underground works in soft ground. The contributions cover: Field case studies Sensing technologies and monitoring for underground construction in soft ground Physical and numerical modelling of tunnels and deep excavations in soft ground Seismic response of underground infrastructure in soft ground Design and application of ground improvement for underground construction Ground movements, interaction with existing structures and mitigation measures The general reports give an overview of the papers submitted to the symposium, covered in four technical sessions. The proceedings include the written version of the five invited lectures covering topics ranging from developments in geotechnical aspects of underground construction, tunnelling and groundwater interaction (short and long-term effects), the influence of earth pressure balance shield tunnelling on pre-convergence and segmental liner loading (field observations, modelling and implications on design). Similar to previous editions, Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground represents a valuable source of reference on the current practice of analysis, design, and construction of tunnels and deep excavations in soft ground. The book is particularly aimed at academics and professionals interested in geotechnical and underground engineering.

This book discusses the semantic foundations of concurrent systems with nondeterministic and probabilistic behaviour. Particular attention is given to clarifying the relationship between testing and simulation semantics and characterising bisimulations from metric, logical, and algorithmic perspectives. Besides presenting recent research outcomes in probabilistic concurrency theory, the book exemplifies the use of many mathematical techniques to solve problems in computer science, which is intended to be accessible to postgraduate students in Computer Science and Mathematics. It can also be used by researchers and practitioners either for advanced study or for technical reference.