Reliability Assessment for Bridge Structure Based on Multiple Failure Modes

An innovative and effective approach for reliability assessment is proposed in this paper. Three failure modes had been studied based on maximum tensile stress of reinforcement, maximum deflection and maximum crack width. Reliability index and correlation coefficient had been calculated by using design point method. Furthermore, membership functions were successfully used for fuzzy and random reliability analysis. In this study, multiple failure modes is considered as a series-connection system for its reliability analysis. Thus, the fuzzy and random failure probability of series-connection system had been calculated according to reliability index and correlation coefficient of every failure mode. The example illustrated that fuzzy and random failure probability can be computed by membership functions and limit state functions based on multiple failure modes. And through boundary estimated method, the proposed fuzzy and random reliability assessment method in this paper is confirmed credible.