Moment methods for structural reliability

Abstract

First-order reliability method (FORM) is considered to be one of the most reliable computational methods. In the last decades, researchers have examined the shortcomings of FORM, primarily accuracy and the difficulties involved in searching for the design point by iteration using the derivatives of the performance function. In order to improve upon FORM, several structural reliability methods have been developed based on FORM, such as second-order reliability method (SORM), importance sampling Monte-Carlo simulation, first-order third-moment reliability method (FOTM), and response surface approach (RSA). In the present paper, moment methods for structural reliability are investigated. Five moment method formulas are presented and investigated, and the accuracy and efficiency of these methods are demonstrated using numerical examples. The moment methods, being very simple, have no shortcomings with respect to design points, and requires neither iteration nor the computation of derivatives, and thus are convenient to be applied to structural reliability analysis.