An efficient hybrid reliability analysis method with random and interval variables. Issue 9 (1st September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xie, Shaojun; Pan, Baisong; Du, Xiaoping
• Is Part Of: Engineering optimization. Volume 48:Issue 9(2016)
• Page Start: 1459
• Page End: 1473
• Publication Date: 2016-09-01
• Subjects: epistemic uncertainty -- interval variable -- hybrid uncertainty analysis; Engineering design -- Periodicals; Mathematical optimization -- Periodicals; 620.0042
• DOI: 10.1080/0305215X.2015.1111084
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-215X

Abstract

Abstract : Random and interval variables often coexist. Interval variables make reliability analysis much more computationally intensive. This work develops a new hybrid reliability analysis method so that the probability analysis (PA) loop and interval analysis (IA) loop are decomposed into two separate loops. An efficient PA algorithm is employed, and a new efficient IA method is developed. The new IA method consists of two stages. The first stage is for monotonic limit-state functions. If the limit-state function is not monotonic, the second stage is triggered. In the second stage, the limit-state function is sequentially approximated with a second order form, and the gradient projection method is applied to solve the extreme responses of the limit-state function with respect to the interval variables. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method are demonstrated by three examples.