An accurate and efficient reliability-based design optimization using the second order reliability method and improved stability transformation method. Issue 5 (4th May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Meng, Zeng; Yang, Dixiong; Zhou, Huanlin; Yu, Bo
• Is Part Of: Engineering optimization. Volume 50:Issue 5(2018)
• Page Start: 749
• Page End: 765
• Publication Date: 2018-05-04
• Subjects: Reliability-based design optimization -- improved stability transformation method -- second order reliability method -- symmetric rank-one update -- Hessian matrix; Engineering design -- Periodicals; Mathematical optimization -- Periodicals; 620.0042
• DOI: 10.1080/0305215X.2017.1351962
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-215X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The first order reliability method has been extensively adopted for reliability-based design optimization (RBDO), but it shows inaccuracy in calculating the failure probability with highly nonlinear performance functions. Thus, the second order reliability method is required to evaluate the reliability accurately. However, its application for RBDO is quite challenge owing to the expensive computational cost incurred by the repeated reliability evaluation and Hessian calculation of probabilistic constraints. In this article, a new improved stability transformation method is proposed to search the most probable point efficiently, and the Hessian matrix is calculated by the symmetric rank-one update. The computational capability of the proposed method is illustrated and compared to the existing RBDO approaches through three mathematical and two engineering examples. The comparison results indicate that the proposed method is very efficient and accurate, providing an alternative tool for RBDO of engineering structures.