Nondestructive damage testing (NDT) techniques yields the damage location and its size, from the modal characteristics of a pre-damaged and post-damaged structures. To predict the system reliability of the aging structure, results from NDT are integrated into the element/component failure probabilities. The element/component failure probabilities can be calculated from failure functions for each element/component with the aid of techniques from structural reliability analysis. In this paper, a method to estimate the system reliability of a structure, based on the reliabilities of elements/components in a given structure, is presented. A simple rigid frame subjected to random vertical and horizontal loads is investigated to demonstrate the proposed method.

Date Published: 23 May 1997
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 3043, Smart Structures and Materials 1997: Smart Systems for Bridges, Structures, and Highways, (23 May 1997); doi: 10.1117/12.274647

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3043:
Smart Structures and Materials 1997: Smart Systems for Bridges, Structures, and Highways
Norris Stubbs, Editor(s)