Non Deterministic Approaches

Newcastle University - Earth Systems Engineering
Prof Jim Hall

Our research is focussed on developing new methods for analysing and managing risks in civil engineering and environmental systems. Research interest lie in the following five areas:

1. Uncertainty representation in modelling and risk analysis of engineering systems. Random set and imprecise probability theories. Sensitivity analysis and model calibration.
2. Decision support tools for infrastructure systems. Decision analysis. Info-gap theory. Decision support for futures and scenarios analysis.
3. Flood risk analysis and management. Reliability analysis of flood defence systems. Stochastic deterioration models. Advanced sampling based methods. Broad scale flood risk analysis.
4. Coastal cliff recession prediction and appraisal. Simplified process-based modelling of coastal system evolution over extended time and space scales. Stochastic simulation of coastal cliff recession. Use of probabilistic information in coastal management.
5. Impacts of climate change on infrastructure systems. Engineering adaptation to global change. Climate impacts, adaptation and mitigation in urban areas. Impacts of climate change on flood and coastal risks.

Recent publications

Hall, J.W., Fu, G. and Lawry, J. Imprecise probabilities of climate change: aggregation of fuzzy scenarios and model uncertainties, Climatic Change, in press.

Hall, J.W. Uncertainty-based sensitivity indices for imprecise probabilities. Reliability Engineering and Systems Safety, 91(10-11) (2006) 1443-1451.

Hall, J.W., Twyman, C. and Kay, A. Influence diagrams for representing uncertainty in climate-related propositions. Climatic Change, 69 (2005) 343-365.

Dawson, R.J., Hall, J.W., Bates, P.D. and Nicholls, R.J. Quantified analysis of the probability of flooding in the Thames Estuary under imaginable worst case sea-level rise scenarios, Int. J. Water Resources Development, 21(4) (2005) 577 - 591.

Hall, J.W., Sayers, P.B and Dawson, R.J. National-scale assessment of current and future flood risk in England and Wales, Natural Hazards, 36 (2005) 147-164.

Hall, J.W., Tarantola, S., Bates, P.D. and Horritt M.S. Distributed sensitivity analysis of flood inundation model calibration, J. Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, 131(2) (2005) 117-126.

Rubio, E., Hall, J.W. and Anderson, M.G. Uncertainty analysis in a slope hydrology and stability model using probabilistic and imprecise information, Computers and Geotechnics, 31 (2004) 529-536.

Hall, J.W. and Lawry, J. Generation, combination and extension of random set approximations to coherent lower and upper probabilities. Reliability Engineering and System Safety. 85(1-3) (2004) 89-101.

Hall, J.W., Rubio, E. and Anderson, M.G. Random sets of probability measures in slope hydrology and stability analysis. ZAMM: Journal of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 84(10-11) (2004) 710-720.

Lawry, J., Hall, J.W. and Bovey, R. Fusion of expert and learnt knowledge in a framework of fuzzy labels. Int. J. Approximate Reasoning, 36 (2004) 151-198.

Hall, J.W., le Masurier, J.W., Baker-Langman, E.A., Davis, J.P. and Taylor, C.A. A decision-support methodology for performance-based asset management. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems, 21(1) (2004) 51-75.

Hall, J.W. Handling uncertainty in the hydroinformatic process. Hydroinformatics, 5(4) (2003) 215-232.

Hall, J.W. and Lawry, J. Fuzzy label methods for constructing imprecise limit state functions. Structural Safety, 28(4) (2003) 317-341.

Davis, J.P. and Hall, J.W. A software supported process for assembling evidence and handling uncertainty in decision-making. Decision Support Systems, 35(3) (2003) 415-433.