Structural Reliability

[Summer 2000, Fall 2002, Fall 2006, Fall 2008, Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Fall 2019]

Course objectives

The focus of this course is on practical applications of structural reliability theory in assessing the safety and reliability of structures (or other engineered systems) against prescribed “limit states” of performance. Several numerical simulation and optimization techniques will form the basis for reliability analyses.Students can expect to gain an understanding of the role of load and resistance variability in reliability-based structural design. The methods to be covered in the course are applicable in the development of design codes; in developing safer and more reliable designs; in optimization; and in the rational evaluation and requalification of existing structures. While examples will focus on structural engineering applications, illustrations of the formulation of reliability analysis problems in other sub-disciplines within civil engineering as well as in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, and materials science will also be presented.