Vol.23, No.2, 2023, pp. 129–132
UDC:

The paper aims to delve into the critical connection between optimal design and the reliability or safety of structures. The discussion primarily centres on structures whose reliability or failure probability can be reasonably assessed, especially in a redesigned context. A review of structural problems that have been optimised within a reliability framework is presented. Given the topic's focus on safety from a probabilistic perspective, it is necessary to address relevant issues of sensitivity, damage costs, limited empirical data, and safety philosophy. The paper primarily emphasizes the relationship between optimisation and reliability, considering the computational and philosophical questions that arise from failure analysis and reliability-based design. It highlights the drawbacks of current deterministic approaches and the potential benefits of a probabilistic approach to safety and design. It also notes that while most structural reliability analyses have been based on a static approach to loads and strength, a more holistic perspective should consider factors like stresses or fatigue strength that might be stochastic or time-dependent.

Keywords: structural optimisation, reliability, eigenvalues