Previous estimates have indicated that in 2005, there were 4,072 individuals with dementia (IWD) in the Maltese islands and that this number would almost double by the year 2050. These figures were based on the EURODEM project that analysed the results of a population-based systematic review of published studies on the global prevalence of dementia from 1980 to 2004. Since then, further dementi...

Geometric and mechanical properties all influence the resistance of RC structures and may, in certain combination of property values, increase the risk of a brittle failure of the whole system. This paper presents a statistical and probabilistic investigation on the resistance of RC beams designed according to Eurocodes 2 and 8, and subjected to multiple failure modes, under both the natural va...

A performance-based design procedure for realistic 3D reinforced concrete (R/C) buildings is presented, that involves the use of advanced analytical tools. Depending on the building configuration, use of two alternative tools is suggested, i.e. either time-history analysis for appropriately scaled input motions, or inelastic static (pushover) analysis, both for two different levels of earthquak...

The present project aims to present an alternative method for the determination of the inelastic displacements using pushover analysis and directly generated inelastic spectra. The determination of the target displacement is similar to Fajfar`s N2 method, employed in Eurocode 8. Unlike the EC8, where empirical formulas are used for describing the inelastic seismic demand, the proposed method us...

ABSTRACT: The bearing capacity of shallow foundations is classically computed as the sum of three contributions, coming from the soil cohesion, the overburden pressure and the weight of the soil mass mobilized by the collapse mechanism. Each of these contributive terms is then multiplied by several special corrective factors that account for the effect of the shape, depth and tilt of the founda...

abstract: This paper presents the results of seven experimental tests in reinforced concrete wide beams, aiming to investigate their performance when subjected shear, using prefabricated truss stirrups as shear reinforcement, well a supplementary reinforcement control cracks by delamination. The main analysed variables were: position inclination and spacing between stirrups. Results showed that...