RISK-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DESIGN OF TRUSS STRUCTURES CONSIDERING REDUNDANCY ALLOCATION AND THE IMPACTS OF NON-TECHNICAL FACTORS

• Grant number: 24/03848-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Civil Engineering - Structural Engineering
• Principal Investigator: André Teófilo Beck
• Grantee: Lucas Araújo Rodrigues da Silva
• Supervisor: Jochen Kohler
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/08009-6 - Optimal design of truss structures considering progressive collapse due to aleatory and epistemic uncertainties, BP.DR

Abstract

The safety of structural systems depends on non-structural factors, including human errors, illegal loads, sabotage, misuse, and various social, financial, and political factors. Thesefactors, characterized by their epistemic nature, can be broadly classified as non-technical. Recently, the latent failure probability concept was introduced to incorporate the effects of non-technical factors in structural systems optimization. Applications by the candidate and his supervisor indicate that non-technical factors have a significant impact on optimal redundancyallocation and that the latent failure probability may be a very useful tool for risk-based decisionmaking in structural design. However, current structural design standards are still limited inaddressing system behavior, especially under the influence of non-technical factors. In thiscontext, this proposal aims to develop risk-based structural design recommendations, consideringthe impacts of non-technical factors on system reliability. This will be achieved by employingsystem-reliability and risk-based optimization formulations, considering the latent failureprobability concept, to investigate the optimal redundancy allocation in truss structures such asbridges, domes, and roofs. Furthermore, the formulations will be used to back calculate optimal safety factors and reliability indexes for conventionally designed structures. These results are expected to provide insights into risk-based decision-making for conventional structural design, avoiding overconservative solutions. To achieve the above goals we would like to count with the expertise of Prof. Jochen Köhler, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology(Trondheim, Norway). Prof. Köhler is an expert in structural reliability, risk analysis, codecalibration and probabilistic material and load modelling. The expertise of Prof. Köhler iscomplementary to that of the supervisor in Brazil, and will be very important to complement thecandidate's research and to provide more practical applications to our fundamental results.