ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we introduce reliability analysis concepts for system components. We will use practical examples from engineering and the sciences to introduce the concepts and their applications.
14.1 INTRODUCTION
Uncertainties in civil engineering systems can be mainly attributed to ambiguity and vagueness in de•ning the variables and parameters of the systems and their relations. The ambiguity component is generally due to noncognitive sources, which include (1) physical randomness, (2) statistical uncertainty due to the use of limited information to estimate the characteristics of the variables and
CONTENTS
14.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 477 14.2 Time to Failure .................................................................................................................... 478 14.3 Reliability of Components ..................................................................................................480 14.4 First-Order Reliability Method ........................................................................................... 482 14.5 Advanced Second-Moment Method ....................................................................................486
