Structural Engineering Documents - Introduction to Safety and Reliability of Structures

Structural engineers devote all their effort to meeting society’s expectations efficiently. Engineers and scientists work together to develop solutions to structural problems. Given that nothing is absolutely and eternally safe, the goal is to attain an acceptably small probability of failure for a structure. Reliability analysis is part of the science and practice of engineering today, not only with respect to the safety of structures, but also for questions of serviceability and other requirements of technical systems that might be impacted by some probability. This present volume takes a rather broad approach to the safety of structures and related topics. It treats the underlying concepts of risk and safety, and introduces the reader to the main concepts and strategies for dealing with hazards. A chapter is devoted to the processing of data into information that is relevant for applying reliability theory. The two main chapters deal with the modelling of structures and with methods of reliability analysis. Another chapter focuses on problems related to establishing target reliabilities, assessing existing structures, and effective strategies against human error. Content: Front Matter • Preface • Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Information Processing 3. Basic Variables and Modelling 4. Reliability Analysis Methods 5. Assessment, Judgement, and Quality Assurance 6. Appendix