This book contains contributions from various authors on topics related to probabilistic methods used for the design of structures. Several of the papers were initially prepared for advanced courses on structural reliability or on probabilistic methods for structural design. These courses have been held in several countries and have been given by various groups of lecturers. They were aimed at engineers and researchers that had already been exposed to structural reliability methods, and presented overviews of the various topics.
The book includes a selection of those contributions, which will be of use for future courses or for engineers and researchers who want an up-to-date overview. It is complementary to the existing textbooks on structural reliability, which normally cover the basic topics but exclude the more specialised aspects.
In addition, several papers have been specially prepared for this book, complementing the others in providing an overall account of recent advances in the field.
Among the topics covered are modelling of uncertainty, prediction of the strength of components, load modelling and combination, assessment of structural systems, stochastic finite elements and design consideration. This volume will be useful for practitioners as well as for researchers.

Inhalt

1. Basic Concepts of Structural Design; J.F. Borges. 2. Quantification of Model Uncertainty; C. Guedes Soares. 3. Response Surface Methodology in Structural Reliability; L. Labeyrie. 4. Stochastic Modeling of Fatigue Crack Growth and Inspection; H.O. Madsen. 5. Probabilistic Fatigue Assessment of Welded Joints; N.K. Shetty. 6. Probabilistic Modelling of the Strength of Flat Compression Members; C. Guedes Soares. 7. Reliability Analysis with Implicit Formulations; J.P. Muzeau, M. Lemaire. 8. Methods of System Reliability in Multidimensional Spaces; R. Rackwitz. 9. Statistical Extremes as a Tool for Design; J. Tiago de Oliveira. 10. Stochastic Modelling of Load Combinations; H.O. Madsen. 11. Time-Variant Reliability for Non-Stationary Processes by the Outcrossing Approach; R. Rackwitz. 12. Simulation of Stochastic Processes and Fields to Model Loading and Material Uncertainties; G. Deodatis. 13. A Spectral Formulation of Stochastic Finite Elements; R.G. Ghanem, P.D. Spanos. 14. Stochastic Finite Elements via Response Surface: Fatigue Crack Growth Problems; P. Colombi, L. Faravelli. 15. Probability Based Structural Codes: Past and Future; J.F. Borges. 16. Reliability Based Seismic Design; F. Casciati, A. Callerio. 17. Risk Based Structural Maintenance Planning; M. Faber.