Philosophies of Structural Safety and Reliability

Book excerpt: 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-sets based treatments, and the convex approach. Explaining the theory behind probabilistic analysis, fuzzy-sets 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 the examples of civil engineering structures and the risk of earthquakes, the impact of rough seas on a ship, and the problem of turbulence for aerospace vehicles. Building on the authors' years of experience in the field, the book 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. The book will be of interest to students and professionals in the field of aerospace, civil, mechanical, marine and ocean engineering.