Reliability-Based Robust Design for Structural System with Multiple Failure Modes

Abstract

A reliability-based robust design method for structural system with multiple failure modes is proposed. For arbitrarily distributed random variables, the perturbation method and the Edgeworth series expansion are employed to approximate the cumulative distribution function of each failure mode. On the relevancy of failure modes, the probability network evaluation technique is used to assess the reliability of the system. Reliability sensitivities of random variables are derived with the gradient method. A reliability-based optimization model is built through minimum reliability sensitivity of design variables. Numerical examples illustrate the method proposed facilitates the robust design of structural system.

Keywords:

• Arbitrarily distributed random variables
• Multiple failure modes
• Probability network evaluation technique
• Reliability-based robust design
• Reliability sensitivity

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research reported here is supported by “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities” (N100603008). We would also like to express our appreciation to Key National Science & Technology Special Project on “High-Grade CNC Machine Tools and Basic Manufacturing Equipments” (2010ZX04014-014), Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (50875039) and Key Projects in the National Science & Technology Pillar Program in the Eleventh Five-year Plan Period (2009BAG12A02-A07-2). Special thanks go to the referees for the valuable comments.

Notes

^#Communicated by I. Elishakoff.