Probabilistic Methods in the Mechanics of Solids and Structures

The IUTAM Symposium on Probabilistic Methods in the Mechanics of Solids and Structures, dedicated to the memory of Waloddi Weibull, was held in Stockholm, Sweden, June 19-21, 1984, on the initiative of the Swedish National Committee for Mech­ anics and the Aeronautical Research Institute of Sweden, FFA. The purpose of the symposium was to bring together mathema­ ticians that develop the theory of stochastic processes and methods for reliability analysis, with engineers that apply these theories and methods to model loads, strengths and structures for the advancement of structural safety. Waloddi Weibull was a pioneer in this field with his many publi­ cations from the thirties until his death in 1979. He also took an active part in the formation of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics during the forties, and subsequently initiated foundation of the Swedish National Committee for Mechanics, through which Sweden joined IUTAM as a member. 116 participants from 21 countries attended the symposium, and 55 invited papers were presented in 7 scientific sessions.

1. Extreme Value Theory.- Applications of Extreme Value Theory to Problems of Material Behavior.- A Matrix-Valued Weibull Distribution.- Extreme Value Statistics Compatible with Random Field Theory.- Some Problems of Estimation for Mixed-Weibull Populations which Arise in Fatigue or Strength Models.- Extreme Value Theory in Endurance Testing of Ball and Roller Bearings.- The Use of Slepian Model Processes in Crossing and Extreme Value Theory.- Plastic Movements of Linear Elastic-Ideal Plastic Oscillator Subject to Gaussian Process Excitation.- Generalized Hermite Polynomials and the Spectrum of Nonlinear Random Vibration.- Weibull Distributions and Large Earthquake Modelling.- 2. Fatigue Crack Growth.- Analysis of Stochastic Equation Models of Crack Growth.- Stochastic Modeling of Fatigue Crack Propagation.- Stochastic Modelling of Fatigue Crack Growth.- Probabilistic Crack Propagation Using Cycle-by-Cycle Technique.- Fatigue Life Distribution for Structures with Interacting Failures.- A Consistent Reliability Concept Utilizing Fracture Mechanics.- Fatigue Crack Propagation under Random Loading.- Correlation between Micro Fracture Process and Fatigue Crack Propagation.- 3. Probabilistic Failure Models.- Sets of Multiple Cracks in Solids with Application to the Fatigue Life and Reliability Prediction.- Stochastic Approach to Statistical Aspects of Failure.- Fatigue Life and Reliability Estimation of Mineral-Oil Pipe Lines.- Assessment of Surface Strength and Bulk Strength of a Typical Brittle Material.- The “Weakest Link” Concept after Proof Testing.- Brittle Material Design Using Three Parameter Weibull Distributions.- Ring-on-Ring Tests and the Modeling of Cladding Glass Strength by the Weibull Distribution.- Probabilistic Analysis of Plastic Plates.- Lower Bound Reliability Analysis of Plastic Structures.- Probabilistic Models for Composites: Are there Flaws in the Theory?.- Failure Statistics of Unidirectional Long-Fiber Composites.- Stochastic Approach to Study the Fracture and Fatigue of Concrete.- The Statistical Theory of Brittle Fracture Applied on Concrete.- 4. Probabilistic Fracture Mechanics.- Calculating PWR Pressure Vessel Failure Frequencies.- Probabilistic Assessment of Structures with Weld Defects.- Probability of Fracture in the Main Coolant Pipe of a Pressurized Water Reactor.- Statistical Modeling of Shift in the Reference Temperature of Pressure Vessel Welds.- 5. Reliability Analysis.- Combining Component and System Information in System Reliability Calculation.- Recent Developments in Multistate Reliability Theory.- Bayesian Fatigue Life Prediction.- Closed Form Solutions for Cost Optimized Reliability.- Dynamic Updating of Cumulative Damage Models for Reliability and Maintenance Based upon Service Information.- 6. Structural Response to Random Loads.- Random Vibration of Inelastic Structures.- Response of Simple Oscillators to Student’s t Excitations.- Multi-Failure Mode Systems under Time-Variant Loading.- Random Vibration of a Structure via Classical and Nonclassical Theories.- Reliability Assessment for Non-Linear Random Frames.- On Reliability and Strength of Structural Components against Seismic Excitation.- Random Vibration and Response Spectrum Approaches in Seismic Structural Designs.- Effect of a Damper on the Wind-Induced Oscillations of a Tall Mast.- Reduction of Wind-Induced Random Vibrations by Use of an Optimal Dynamic Absorber.- Failure Probability and Parameter Estimation for Structures with Weibull-Distributed Strength.- 7. Structures: Design Philosophy, Codes and Applications.- Reliability Approach to Structural Safety and Safety Criteria.- Fatigue Reliability of Structural Components under Scheduled Inspection and Repair Maintenance.- Reliability Analysis of Landing Gear Fatigue Life.- The Importance Factor ― A Set of Problems.- Criteria for the Selection of Load Combination Factors.- Data Pooling Analysis Based on Fatigue Reliability Data-Base.