Non Deterministic Approaches

4th International Workshop on Reliable Engineering Computing - REC2010
Robust Design - Coping with Hazards, Risk and Uncertainty
Conference website: http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/civil/REC2010/index.cfm

 

James L. Beck^*, Gerhart I. Schuëller^† AND Héctor A. Jensen^#

Robustness in the prediction of structural response is an essential requirement of structural analysis for quality assurance. Errors in predictions can arise from many possible sources, such as uncertainty and variability in the structural boundary conditions, loads and material properties, and incomplete model capabilities. During design and operation, the acceptable, or desired, structural performance is usually defined in terms of specified response quantities not exceeding certain limits, such as interstory drift limits or floor acceleration limits. To assess the structural performance, it is important that robust predictions are made that treat all the uncertainties, from modelling future loads to modelling the structural behaviour. This leads naturally to the concept of robust reliability which quantifies the confidence that the analyst has that the design, when constructed, will meet the design specifications. Maximization of the robust reliability could be used, for example, to search for an optimal robust design among a feasible set of designs.