A New Formulation for Structural Reliability of Parallel Systems

by B. H. Oh, Seoul Nat Univ, Seoul, Republic of Korea,
S. W. Chang, Seoul Nat Univ, Seoul, Republic of Korea,
J. J. Lee, Seoul Nat Univ, Seoul, Republic of Korea,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Structural Safety and Reliability

Abstract:

Presented is a realistic method to calculate the reliability of a parallel structural system. The present theory considers that each element of a parallel system may have different reliability index and that the correlation between member strengths may be different. The present study further assumes that both the member strengths and loads applied to a structure are random variables and that the mean and variance of the strength of each member may be different within the system. The system reliability index is derived as a function of individual member reliabilities, variances of the strength and load effect of each member, and correlation coefficients between members. The theory is reduced to the previously found wellknown equation when the load is deterministic and the means and variances of members are equal. The present study indicates that the member strength correlation and individual member reliability greatly influence the overall reliability of a structural system.

Subject Headings: System reliability | Structural reliability | Structural systems | Structural analysis | Structural strength | Load factors | Correlation

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