Estimation of Structural Reliability of Nonlinear Systems under Seismic Action

Summary

Response of structures with strong nonlinearities under seismic actions treated as nonstationary random processes is analysed using the numerical simulation. Various nonlinearities such as elasto-plastic behaviour, sliding bearings, and dry friction are included into consideration — The central point of the study is the prediction of structural reliability measures under the seismic action. The problem of the extrapolation of results of the numerical simulation into the area of small probabilities is considered. The properties of “tails” of distributions for essentially nonlinear systems are demonstrated with numerical examples, and approaches to facilitate the engineering solution of the “tails” problem are discussed.