Limit state function identification using Support Vector Machines for discontinuous responses and disjoint failure domains

This article presents a method for the explicit construction of limit state functions using Support Vector Machines (SVM). Specifically, the approach aims at handling the difficulties associated with the reliability assessment of problems exhibiting discontinuous responses and disjoint failure domains. The SVM-based explicit construction of limit state functions allows for an easy calculation of a probability of failure and enables the association of a specific system behavior with a region of the design space. The explicit limit state function can then be used within a reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) problem. Two problems are presented to demonstrate the successful application of the developed method for explicit construction of limit state function and reliability-based optimum design. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.