Uncertainty is certain to be found in structural engineering, making it crucial to structure design. This book covers three competing philosophies behind structural safety and reliability: probabilistic analysis, fuzzy set-based treatments, and the convex approach. Explaining the theory behind probabilistic analysis, fuzzy set-based treatments, and the convex approach in detail, alongside their implementation, use, and benefits, the book compares and contrasts these methods, enabling the reader to solve problems associated with uncertainty. These uncertainty issues can be seen in civil engineering structures, risk of earthquakes, impact of rough seas on ships, and turbulence affecting aerospace vehicles. Building on the authors’ many years of experience in the field, Philosophies of Structural Safety and Reliability is an essential guide to structural uncertainty. Topics covered in the book include properties of materials and their structural deterioration, safety factor and reliability, risk evaluation and loads, and their combinations. This book will be of interest to students and professionals in the fields of aerospace, civil, mechanical, marine, and ocean engineering.

Publisher Description

A quarter of the century has elapsed since I gave my first course in structural reliability to graduate students at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Since that time on I have given many courses and seminars to students, researchers, designers, and site engineers interested in reliability. I also participated in and was responsible for numerous projects where reliability solutions were required. During that period, the scope of structural reliability gradually enlarged to become a substantial part of the general reliability theory. First, it is apparent that bearing structures should not be isolated objectives of interest, and, consequently, that constntCted facilities should be studied. Second, a new engineering branch has emerged -reliability engineering. These two facts have highlighted new aspects and asked for new approaches to the theory and applications. I always state in my lectures that the reliability theory is nothing more than mathematized engineering judgment. In fact, thanks mainly to probability and statistics, and also to computers, the empirical knowledge gained by Humankind's construction experience could have been transposed into a pattern of logic thinking, able to produce conclusions and to forecast the behavior of engineering entities. This manner of thinking has developed into an intricate network linked by certain rules, which, in a way, can be considered a type of reliability grammar. We can discern many grammatical concepts in the general structure of the reliability theory.

Topics covered: Basic theory & methods; Design concepts; Design methods; Damage/maintenance; Earthquake; Geotechnical engineering; Materials; Social systems / Social science; Stochastic process; Structures; Wind; etc.

Structural Reliability Analysis and Prediction, Third Edition is a textbook which addresses the important issue of predicting the safety of structures at the design stage and also the safety of existing, perhaps deteriorating structures. Attention is focused on the development and definition of limit states such as serviceability and ultimate strength, the definition of failure and the various models which might be used to describe strength and loading. This book emphasises concepts and applications, built up from basic principles and avoids undue mathematical rigour. It presents an accessible and unified account of the theory and techniques for the analysis of the reliability of engineering structures using probability theory. This new edition has been updated to cover new developments and applications and a new chapter is included which covers structural optimization in the context of reliability analysis. New examples and end of chapter problems are also now included.