Showing papers in "Probabilistic Engineering Mechanics in 2008"

TL;DR: In this article, a new artificial neural network-based response surface method in conjunction with the uniform design method for predicting failure probability of structures is presented, which involves the selection of training datasets for establishing an ANN model, approximation of the limit state function by the trained ANN model and estimation of the failure probability using first-order reliability method (FORM).

TL;DR: It is shown that for the general high-dimensional nonlinear reliability problems the selection of an appropriate fixed IS density is practically impossible.

TL;DR: In this article, a simple approximate formula is derived for the predictive reliability index, which requires a single solution of the reliability problem together with parameter sensitivities with respect to mean parameter values.

TL;DR: An overview of these approximation methods is presented and their potential is demonstrated by application to several examples of nonlinear structural analysis by means of flexible adjustment of the interpolation scheme.

TL;DR: In this article, a method for the explicit construction of limit state functions using Support Vector Machines (SVM) is presented to handle the difficulties associated with the reliability assessment of problems exhibiting discontinuous responses and disjoint failure domains.

TL;DR: In this paper, a multiscale Monte Carlo finite element method (MCFEM) was proposed for determining mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites (PNC) that consist of polymers reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT).

TL;DR: In this article, a methodology for simulation of strongly non-Gaussian random fields is presented, which involves an iterative scheme that produces sample functions that match a prescribed nonGaussian marginal distribution and a prescribed Spectral Density Function (SDF).

TL;DR: In this article, a meso-scale probability model for a large class of random anisotropic elastic microstructures is presented to perform a parametric analysis of the Representative Volume Element (RVE) size.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that the Frechet extreme value distribution is more appropriate than Gumbel to represent the maximum pit depth, and that the difference in maximum pit depths predicted by these two distributions is considerable.

TL;DR: A new method called Stochastic Subset Optimization (SSO) is proposed here for iteratively identifying sub-regions for the optimal design variables within the original design space using Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques.

TL;DR: In this paper, a path integral solution for non-linear systems under Poisson white noise is presented, which may be considered as a step-by-step solution technique in terms of probability density function.

TL;DR: In this paper, a complete probabilistic model of random positive definite matrices is developed that incorporates constraints on the standard deviations of a set of its eigenvalues, and the model is applicable to the representation of the mass and stiffness matrices of random dynamic systems of which certain natural frequencies are observed.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed a mechanistic model for seismic damageability of concrete bridges in the form of fragility curve in such a way that the model can be calibrated with the empirical fragility curves constructed on the basis of the damage data from the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that for typical mass ratios in the order of a few percent, the classic stochastic frequency tuning gives the same standard deviation of the response amplitude within a margin of 0.001 as when using the classic frequency tuning for harmonic load variation, and then optimizing the damping separately.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present and discuss the general approach to PBD, and illustrate two examples of application, respectively to aeolian and seismic risk assessment, respectively.

TL;DR: In this article, a probabilistic model based on Poisson random measure theory is developed for predicting windborne debris damage in residential areas, intended for incorporation into improved methodology to estimate economic losses due to hurricanes to individual houses or entire residential developments.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the impact of wind turbine fatigue on the performance of wind turbines from a probabilistic point of view, including the importance of modeling the SN-curve by a bi-linear model.

TL;DR: In this article, a unified limit-state formulation is employed to complement the traditional focus on collapse limit-states, and the design optimization is carried out in the tail of the total cost distribution.

TL;DR: In this paper, a Hopf-type equation is used to determine the probabilistic structure of the dynamical response of nonlinear systems subjected to general, external, stochastic excitation is considered.

TL;DR: In this paper, a wavelet-based crack detection method is proposed to detect obstructed cracks when measurement at or close to the cracked region is not possible, which is applicable in a general situation when the number of cracks is not known in advance.

TL;DR: From numerical simulations of stochastic response measurements, it is shown that the optimal hyperparameters, determined by use of ABIC, correspond to the best estimate of the wave spectrum, which is not always the case when only one hyperparameter is included in the Bayesian modelling.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors extended the well-established definitions of spectral characteristics for real-valued stationary and non-stationary processes and derived the exact solution in closed-form for the classical problem of computing the time-variant central frequency and bandwidth parameter of the response processes of response processes.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the time evolution of the uncertainty effects associated with the different parameters defining the probabilistic structural performance of two existing cable-stayed bridges in Italy.

TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of non-Gaussianity of the response due to the inherent nonlinearity of a damper device was studied in detail via the Path Integral Solution (PIS) method.

TL;DR: In this article, the hidden process is first anticipated as a non-stationary Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process with unknown parameters that have to be estimated only by use of the information contained in a sample of first-passage times.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on an innovative concept of base isolator where the device is realized by a special geometry of metallic bars, made in a Cu-based shape memory alloy (SMA).

TL;DR: In this article, the response of an elastic perfectly plastic oscillator under zero mean Gaussian white noise excitation is studied, and a closed form expression of the mean maximum of the plastic drift is given assuming that the plastic process is equivalent to a Brownian motion.

TL;DR: Based on three kinds of stillwater load models, i.e., Ferry Borges-Castanheta, Poisson and alternating renewal models, three methods of determining characteristic values of still-water loads for ocean-going ships have been established and evaluated as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a truly-mixed variational approach to estimate the direction of crack propagation by coupling a Monte Carlo simulation scheme with an iterative solution algorithm based on a truly mixed variational formulation which is derived from the Hellinger-Reissner principle.

TL;DR: In this paper, an explicit expression for the occupation density (approximately the univariate probability density) of the Lagrangian wave model is presented, and some conclusions about the definition of freak or rogue waves are drawn.