Probabilistic Methods for Structural Design

This text 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 these contributions, which should be of use to 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 specialized 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 is directed at practitioners as well as researchers.