ABSTRACT
Due to the inherent uncertainties in loads, materials and manufacturing quality, variabilities
are unavoidable in structural responses and can cause significant deviations in expected
product performance. To ensure the reliability of a structure, these uncertainties must be considered
during structural design.
In cases where a structure is optimized such that the design requirements are barely met, it is
important for engineers to asses the design's reliability and, if necessary, optimize the structure
considering the reliability requirement. In those situations where variations in design and operating
environment result in considerable variability of the performance of a system, it is critical for
engineers to search for a robust design. A robust design is one in which the performance deviation
is within acceptable limits.
The objective of this paper is to present a life cycle management tool implemented within a general
purpose stochastic analysis software named COSSAN-XTM. An overview of the tools for reliability
and optimization implemented in the code which are required to solve the robust design problem
is presented. In addition, the interaction with deterministic Finite Element codes is also addressed.
The salient features of the software are presented by means of a challenging problem of Reliability
based optimization and life cycle management.
Keywords: Stochastic analysis, Software, Robust optimization, Reliability, Reliability-based optimization,
Maintenance scheduling, Fatigue crack propagation.
