Efficient reliability analysis coupling importance sampling using adaptive subset simulation and PGD model reduction

The key point of structural reliability analysis is the estimation of the failure probability (Pf), typically a rare event. This probability is defined as the integral over the failure domain which is given by a limit state function. Usually, this function is only implicit given by an underlying finite element simulation of the structure. It is generally not possible to solve the integral for Pf analytically. For that reason, simulation-based methods as well as methods based on surrogate modeling (or Response surface methods) has been developed. Nevertheless, these variance reducing methods still require a few thousand calculations of the underlying finite element model, making reliability Analysis computationally expensive for real applications.