Reliability analysis of structures using stochastic response surface method and saddlepoint approximation

Stochastic response surface method (SRSM) is a technique used for reliability analysis of complex structural systems having implicit or time consuming limit state functions. The main aspects of the SRSM are the collection of sample points, the approximation of response surface and the estimation of the probability of failure. In this paper, sample points are selected close to the most probable point of failure and the actual limit state surface (LSS). The response surface is fitted using the weighted regression technique, which allows the fitting points to be weighted based on their distance from the LSS. The cumulant generating function (CGF) of the response surface is derived analytically. The saddlepoint approximation (SPA) method is utilized to compute the probability of failure of the structural system. Finally, four numerical examples compare the proposed algorithm with the traditional quadratic polynomial SRSM, Kriging based SRSM and direct MCS.