Abstract When limit-state functions are highly nonlinear, traditional reliability methods, such as the first-order and second-order reliability methods, are not accurate. Monte Carlo simulation (MCS), on the other hand, is accurate if a sufficient sample size is used but is computationally intensive. This research proposes a new system reliability method that combines MCS and the Kriging method with improved accuracy and efficiency. Accurate surrogate models are created for limit-state functions with minimal variance in the estimate of the system reliability, thereby producing high accuracy for the system reliability prediction. Instead of employing global optimization, this method uses MCS samples from which training points for the surrogate models are selected. By considering the autocorrelation of a surrogate model, this method captures the more accurate contribution of each MCS sample to the uncertainty in the estimate of the serial system reliability and therefore chooses training points efficiently. Good accuracy and efficiency are demonstrated by four examples. 
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                            ESC: an efficient error-based stopping criterion for kriging-based reliability analysis methods
                        
                    
    
            The ever-increasing complexity of numerical models and associated computational demands have challenged classical reliability analysis methods. Surrogate model-based reliability analysis techniques, and in particular those using kriging meta-model, have gained considerable attention recently for their ability to achieve high accuracy and computational efficiency. However, existing stopping criteria, which are used to terminate the training of surrogate models, do not directly relate to the error in estimated failure probabilities. This limitation can lead to high computational demands because of unnecessary calls to costly performance functions (e.g., involving finite element models) or potentially inaccurate estimates of failure probability due to premature termination of the training process. Here, we propose the error-based stopping criterion (ESC) to address these limitations. First, it is shown that the total number of wrong sign estimation of the performance function for candidate design samples by kriging, S, follows a Poisson binomial distribution. This finding is subsequently used to estimate the lower and upper bounds of S for a given confidence level for sets of candidate design samples classified by kriging as safe and unsafe. An upper bound of error of the estimated failure probability is subsequently derived according to the probabilistic properties of Poisson binomial distribution. The proposed upper bound is implemented in the kriging-based reliability analysis method as the stopping criterion. The efficiency and robustness of ESC are investigated here using five benchmark reliability analysis problems. Results indicate that the proposed method achieves the set accuracy target and substantially reduces the computational demand, in some cases by over 50%. 
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                            - Award ID(s):
- 1762918
- PAR ID:
- 10100655
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Structural and multidisciplinary optimization
- Volume:
- 59
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 1615-147X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1621-1637
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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