Computational aspects associated with the integrative lifetime assessment of engineering structures

摘要

In structural engineering, the determination of the safety level at serviceability and at bearing capacity is essential during the design, construction and maintenance phases of a structure. Quality of planning and design, the appropriate choice of building materials, the quality of production and construction have significant influence on the safety level. Generally, safety levels are subject to a temporal development, as mechanical and chemical changes take place in material properties due to natural and man-made environmental impacts as well as changes in the applied actions. In design codes, the level of safety is defined by means of semi-probabilistic safety concepts (SPSC) in order to cover uncertainties and unknown parameters of the design, construction and maintenance phases. In the integrative assessment (a) the site-specific circumstances of the material properties and environmental influences, (b) the site-specific requirements on safety level considering functional, aesthetic and economic demands of the society or the client/owner, (c) the complexity of the structure and (d) the maintenance strategies are taken into account. This allows for a more realistic representation of the safety level at a given point in time as well as its development due to the obtained additional information. The primary objective of this paper is to present advanced tools for an integrative assessment approach for engineering structures.