Stochastic Finite Element Simulation of Uncertain Structures Subjected to Earthquake

Abstract

In present study, the stochastic finite element simulation based on the efficient Neumann expansion technique is extended for the analysis of uncertain structures under seismically induced random ground motion. The basic objective is to investigate the possibility of applying the Neumann expansion technique coupled with the Monte Carlo simulation for dynamic stochastic systems upto that extent of parameter variation after which the method is no longer gives accurate results compared to that of the direct Monte carlo simulation. The stochastic structural parameters are discretized by the local averaging method and then simulated by Cholesky decomposition of the respective covariance matrix. The earthquake induced ground motion is treated as stationary random process defined by respective power spectral density function. Finally, the finite element solution has been obtained in frequency domain utilizing the advantage of Neumann expansion technique.