Reliability study of beam and plate structures based on stochastic finite element method

The reliability of structural systems is affected by many factors, therefore it is necessary to analyze the structural reliability. The spatial beam-plate structures were simulated by the space beam elements and stiffened plate elements. Using stochastic finite element method and advanced first-order second-moment method, the element reliability analysis was performed. The branch-and-bound algorithm was used to find the main failure modes, and the reliability index of structure system was calculated by the failure mode correlation and probabilistic network evaluation technique (PNET). The stochastic finite element program of a three-dimensional spatial thin-walled structure was developed which considers the effect of several random variables including member area, thickness, material´s modulus of elasticity, loads and strength. Finally, an example was presented, explaining the application by this means.