Determining Target Reliability Index of Structures Based on Cost Optimization and Acceptance Criteria for Fatality Risk
Publication: ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
Volume 7, Issue 2
Abstract
The target reliability index is pivotal to the design, assessment, inspection, and maintenance of structures. It is commonly determined by cost optimization. However, depending on the method of quantifying fatality cost, cost optimization may lead to inconsistent target reliability indices, causing inadequate or unnecessary investment for safety improvement. A new approach to determine the target reliability index is proposed by considering cost efficiency and human safety separately. In this approach, an optimal reliability index is determined through cost optimization, circumventing the quantification of fatality cost in failure consequences. The human safety requirement is fulfilled by adding a constraint to the cost optimization problem based on different acceptance criteria for fatality risk, including individual risk criteria, societal risk criteria, and marginal lifesaving cost principle. The reliability index associated with this constraint is termed herein as an acceptable reliability index. The target reliability index is determined as the maximum between the optimal and acceptable reliability indices. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of various factors on the target reliability index, including the probability density distributions and uncertainties of structural demand as well as the number of potential fatalities.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Specifically, the data used to generate Figs. 4–7 are available upon request.
Acknowledgments
The support by grants from the following sources is gratefully acknowledged: The National Science Foundation (NSF) Award No. CMMI-1537926; the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) Award Nos. N00014-08-1-0188, N00014-12-1-0023, and N00014-16-1-2299; and the USDOT Region 3 University Transportation Center Award No. CIAM-UTC-REG6. The opinions presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring organizations.
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ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
Volume 7 • Issue 2 • June 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jul 27, 2020
Accepted: Dec 10, 2020
Published online: Mar 1, 2021
Published in print: Jun 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Aug 1, 2021
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