Topic: Probabilistic Modeling of Loads and Structural Reliability Analysis

Usually, the loads applied to a structure can be simply categorized as static and dynamic loads, both of which exhibit obvious randomness. Reasonable probabilistic modeling of loads is of first priority to ensure the structural safety. Statistical and physical approaches are widely applied for this purpose. For some cases, e.g., large-span structures, the probabilistic modeling of multidimensional and multivariate loads may be of great necessity, where significant difficulties arise especially when non-Gaussian and non-stationary features need to be addressed. On the other hand, structural reliability analysis aims to quantitatively measure the risk of structural failure under applied loads. Various approaches have been developed for structural reliability analysis, which can also be broadly divided into two categories. First, the approaches with high accuracy usually require prohibitively expensive computational efforts, e.g., Monte Carlo simulation. Second, those can achieve high efficiency but may not be applicable to complex structures. Clearly, the developments of versatile solutions that can keep the tradeoff of accuracy and efficiency are still highly desired for addressing these challenges. This Special Issue is to report recent advances, and to discuss emerging cross-disciplinary approaches related to both probabilistic modeling of loads and structural reliability analysis. Specific contributions related to both fundamental research and engineering applications are welcome.

31 Oct 2024