Title: Two-level approximation method for reliability-based design optimisation

Authors: Hae Chang Gea, Kunjal Oza

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. ' Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA

Abstract: In order to model uncertainties and achieve the required reliability, Reliability-Based Design Optimisation (RBDO) has evolved as a dominant design tool. Many methods have been introduced to solve the RBDO problem. However, the computational expense associated with the probabilistic constraint evaluation still limits the applicability of the RBDO to practical engineering problems. In this paper, a Two-Level Approximation method (TLA) is proposed. At the first level, a reduced second order approximation is used for better optimisation solution; at the second level a linear approximation is used for faster reliability assessment. The optimal solution is obtained iteratively. The proposed method is tested on certain numerical examples, and results obtained are compared to evaluate the cost-effectiveness.

Keywords: uncertainty; reliability-based design optimisation; two-level approximation; reliability assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.2006.008276

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 2006 Vol.25 No.1/2/3, pp.99 - 111

Published online: 28 Nov 2005 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article