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C H A P T E R 3
Computational Methods for
the Reliability of a Component
3.1 INTRODUCTION
In reliability-based mechanical design, the reliability replaces the traditional factor of safety
and is used to establish the relationship between material mechanical properties, component
geometric dimensions, and loading conditions. So, the methods for calculating reliability are
one of the key issues for reliability-based mechanical design. is chapter will discuss how to
calculate the reliability of a component under specified loading. e following six topics will be
discussed.
• e limit state function for a mechanical component: this book focuses on mechanical
component design. e limit state function describes a limit state of a component between
safety and failure. It is a governing equation for calculating the reliability of a component.
• Reliability of component for two random variables. When limit state functions have only
two random variables, the interference method can be used to calculate the reliability of a
component.
• e First-Order Second-Moment (FOSM) method: when all random variables are normal
distributions in a limit state function, the FOSM method can be used to calculate the
reliability of a component for a linear limit state function or to estimate the reliability of a
component for a nonlinear limit state function.
• e Hasofer-Lind (H-L) method: when a limit state function is a nonlinear function of
all normal random variables, the H-L method can be used to calculate the reliability of a
component.
• e Rachwitz-Fiessler (R-F) method: when a limit state function contains non-normal
random variables, the R-F method can be used to calculate the reliability of a component.
• e Monte Carlo method: it is a numerical simulation technique and can be used to cal-
culate the reliability of a component with a limit state function that contains any type of
random variables.
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