A study on uncertainty analysis of fatigue reliability

Abstract

Engineering experience reminds us of the importance of uncertainty analysis in fatigue reliability based design. In the present paper, according to the procedure of fatigue reliability analysis, parameter uncertainty and model uncertainty are studied and the corresponding solutions are reviewed. The aim of parameter uncertainty analysis is to obtain reliability index to quantify uncertainties imported by parameters. The current research focuses on defining reliability index and putting forward different methods to handle different variable expressions (random, convex, fuzzy set). Different from parameter uncertainty analysis, model uncertainty analysis can reduce uncertainties imported by model by modifying model structure or selecting best model. In application, both methods can effectively quantify and reduce uncertainty. The development on both methods will contribute to understanding fatigue process and its causes.