9in
This research has been carried out with the support of a Forbairt Basic Research Grant SC/96/626, under the supervision of Dr Simon P. Wilson of the Department of Statistics and with the collaboration of Professor David Taylor from the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Trinity College Dublin.
I would like to express my thanks to Dr Simon Wilson, for his guidance and encouragement throughout this research. I am grateful to Professor David Taylor, Dr Brendan McCormack and Dr Patrick Prendergast for their collaboration and discussion of the engineering principles behind damage accumulation in steel and PMMA. The academic staff in the Department of Statistics have been of tremendous assistance and support over the years; especially Professor John Haslett who has contributed ideas from the earliest stages of the research, and Eamonn Mullins whose broad outlook on applied statistical inference has been invaluable. A special mention goes to Aideen, Michael, Carl, Cassian, Clare, Dina, Rakhi and Ronan who have influenced my work in various ways. I am thankful to my family for all their support over the years; especially my Dad, Bernard for the proof reading and comments. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my wife, Sam, for her encouragement and support, at every stage of this work.