Chairman's Message

I welcome you to the 17th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMiRT 17), and in the Capital of the Czech Republic - Prague.

SMiRT 17 follows 16 successful biennial conferences organized in major cities around the world. The first International Conference, SMiRT 1, was held in Berlin in the year 1971. The International Association for Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (IASMiRT) was founded in Berlin in the year 1971, too. IASMiRT is registered as a non-profit International Scientific and engineering society. The last International Conference, SMiRT 16, was held in Washington, DC in the year 2001.

The SMiRT 17 provides a forum for the discussion of advances in recent research in the field of structural mechanics used for design, analyses and assessment of materials loaded in operation conditions, for lifetime management of nuclear power plant components Specialists can exchange updated experiences with each other in the areas of seismic analyses, reliability, probability, inspection, maintenance, aging, life extension, damage of materials, inspection decommissioning, waste management, etc.

The International Conference SMiRT 17 provides possibilities for students and young engineers to meet the leading specialists in the area of structural mechanics. The leading specialists have the possibilities to give their knowledge and experience to young beginning generation of future specialists. The aim of SMiRT 17 is to bring together experts in basic and applied science as well as design and service engineers interested in ongoing research in the field of structural mechanics.

The call for papers had an overwhelming response. Many distinguished specialists from all over the world submitted more than 600 abstracts and the International Scientific Committee was forced to assesses and include them to 13 Divisions and their sessions. This book contains 390 abstracts of received manuscripts. The text of received manuscripts was inserted on CD Proceedings.

There is hope that the Conference Proceedings will serve as a comprehensive compilation of the present knowledge and experience and will be used by engineers, designers and operators who are concerned with the subjects presented at the International Conference SMiRT 17.

On behalf of the Executive Committee of SMiRT 17, I wish to thank all the authors, invited lecturers, session chairman, members of the International Scientific Committee, National coordinators and numerous others who helped to shape the content of this conference. I should like to thank Mrs. Magda Sivakova from the Institute of Applied Mechanics Brno and Mrs. Karin Vejvodova from the Brno branch of the Travel Agency TERIS 2002, whose administrative and organizational works were the prerequisite for a successful conference.

Thank you for joining me at this momentous occasion. Enjoy the Prague, take and give knowledge. Join us again in Beijing, August 2005.

Stanislav Vejvoda
Chairman of SMiRT 17
President of the IASMiRT

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