Impact of the Mathematical Model Description on the Assessment of the Reliability of Structural Elements

The study presents a probabilistic approach to the problems of static analysis of structural elements. A steel and reinforced concrete elements were analysed. Structural design parameters were defined as deterministic values and random variables. The latter were not correlated. The criterion of structural failure is expressed by limit functions related to the ultimate limit state. In the performed analyses explicit form of the random variables function were used. The Hasofer-Lind index was used as a reliability measure. In the description of random variables were used the different types of probability distribution appropriate to the nature of the variable. Sensitivity of reliability index to the random variables was defined. If the reliability index sensitivity due to the random variable X_i is low when compared with other variables, it can be stated that the impact of this variable on failure probability is small. Therefore, in successive computations it can be treated as a deterministic parameter. Sensitivity analysis leads to simplify the description of the mathematical model, determine the new limit functions and values of the Hasofer-Lind reliability index. Besides the effect of the assumed level of the variation coefficient of selected random variables on value of the reliability index was determined. The primary research method is the FORM method. In order to verify the correctness of the calculation SORM, Monte Carlo and Importance Sampling methods were used. In the examples of reliability analysis the NUMPRESS program was used. In the considered issues the time was not taken into account explicitly. (paper)