Structural Engineering and Mechanics
Volume 38, Number 5, 2011, pages 651-674
DOI: 10.12989/sem.2011.38.5.651
Multicut high dimensional model representation for reliability analysis
Rajib Chowdhury and B.N. Rao
Abstract
This paper presents a novel method for predicting the failure probability of structural or mechanical systems subjected to random loads and material properties involving multiple design points. The method involves Multicut High Dimensional Model Representation (Multicut-HDMR) technique in conjunction with moving least squares to approximate the original implicit limit state/performance function with an explicit function. Depending on the order chosen sometimes truncated Cut-HDMR expansion is unable to approximate the original implicit limit state/performance function when multiple design points exist on the limit state/performance function or when the problem domain is large. Multicut-HDMR
addresses this problem by using multiple reference points to improve accuracy of the approximate limit state/performance function. Numerical examples show the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed approach in estimating the failure probability.
Key Words
structural reliability; weight function; high dimensional model representation; multiple design points; failure probability.
Address
Rajib Chowdhury: School of Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, UK
B.N. Rao: Structural Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
Chennai – 600 036, India