Structural Reliability Analysis

ABSTRACT: TRI/Austin and the University of Texas at San Antonio have teamed to develop and demonstrate a complete set of modules and a framework for structural reliability analysis for the Air Force. These modules will be developed with a scriptable interface to enable the structural engineer to select the most appropriate options for analysis of a particular problem. It includes the baseline analysis capability of the current Air Force tool PROF, as well as the ability to execute the ASCE POF method and optimized Monte Carlo methods for POF calculations for more complex scenarios. Unique capabilities include more advanced POD models from TRI/Austin"s NDIToolbox codes, and the ability to handle a variety of different repair scenarios. BENEFIT: The benefits of our structural reliability analysis framework are the ability of Air Force engineers to perform more complex analyses that are reflective of realistic Air Force usage and maintenance scenarios. The modularity of the codes will allow use by itself or within modeling environments. Numerical integration methods will be provided as well as optimized Monte Carlo methods enabling engineers to perform sensitivity analyses not possible with the current Air Force code.