Title: Reliability block diagram methods for system reliability analysis of spatial structures

Authors: Nan Xiao; Jie Wan; Hua-Peng Chen; Feng-Chun Yang

Addresses: College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Room A-731 Anzhong Building, Spatial Structure Research Center, 388 Yu Hang Tang Rd., Hangzhou 310058, China ' College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Room A-718 Anzhong Building, Spatial Structure Research Center 388 Yu Hang Tang Rd., Hangzhou 310058, China ' Department of Engineering Science, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK ' College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Room A-718 Anzhong Building, Spatial Structure Research Center, 388 Yu Hang Tang Rd., Hangzhou 310058, China

Abstract: The safety of complex spatial structures in operation depends highly on the reliability of the whole system and its structural components. In order to determine the relationship between system reliability and reliability of its components, reliability block diagram (RBD) method, which emphasises depicting the connection mode among all the components of a system, is employed for system reliability analysis of spatial structures. With the assumption of geometric stability, a new approach, aiming at finding out key elements where damage could lead to overall collapse of the structure, is adopted here for the logic relationship identification among components. The logic relationship, which is considered as the core component of the reliability block diagram, is utilised for reliability analysis of the system and the predetermined components. Finally, a large-span latticed grid spatial structure is investigated to validate the applicability of the RBD method for analysing the system reliability of spatial structures.

Keywords: reliability block diagrams; RBD; system reliability; structural damage; component reliability; key elements; series-parallel systems; reliability analysis; spatial structures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLCPE.2016.082709

International Journal of Lifecycle Performance Engineering, 2016 Vol.2 No.1/2, pp.94 - 110

Accepted: 15 Jan 2016
Published online: 08 Mar 2017 *

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