Non-Probabilistic Structural Reliability Model Based on Ellipsoidal-Bound Model with Restricted Expansion

Abstract

When insufficient data are available, probabilistic reliability method is invalid, but the non-probabilistic reliability method based on I-G (information-gap) model is a valid alternative. The most common I-G model, ellipsoidal-bound model, has been updated in this paper by acquiring information about span restrictions of uncertainty quantities and a corresponding non-probabilistic reliability index was proposed. The method for computing the reliability index was also given. The new model can reveal the influence of the span restriction of uncertainty quantities on structural reliability.