Application of a mode-based meta-model for the reliability assessment of structures subjected to earthquake excitation

Abstract eng:
Realistic modeling of structures depends on both refined FE models and the incorporation of uncertainties inherent to geometric, structural and loading parameters. The resulting computational cost, which is necessary to carry out the reliability assessment due to dynamic loading, is generally very high. However, several methods are applicable for performing an efficient stochastic dynamic reliability analysis, such as model reduction techniques, response approximation or parallel computation. In this work, a mode-based meta-model is adopted in order to assess the reliability of a multi-story building subjected to earthquake excitation. The meta-model allows an efficient evaluation of the structural modes which are represented as a linear combination of the modes of a reference solution [1, 2]. The calibration of the metamodel is based on the modes of a few, say 50, samples of the structure obtained with Monte Carlo simulation. The parameters of the meta-model are then evaluated by the least square solution of the parameters determined for each sample of the calibration set. The reliability analysis is carried out efficiently through the application of the meta-model for estimating the modal properties which are then subsequently required to perform a modesuperposition analysis. Thus, the computational cost compared to direct Monte Carlo simulation based on a full finite element solution can be reduced significantly. The verification of the results for the reliability assessment carried out with the meta-model is performed with a full finite element analysis. The comparison shows a good agreement of the response over the whole duration of the earthquake.

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