Calibration of Partial Safety Factors Through the Inverse FORM Method

A calibration method which uses the so-called inverse FORM approach is proposed. The objective is to find the design point on a hypersphere in U-space, whose radius is the target reliability index, which maximizes the response that the structural system must withstand. Once the design point is determined, the safety factors can be calculated. It is demonstrated that the computational cost of the proposed method is less than the computational cost of traditional calibration techniques. The proposed method is illustrated by means of three examples: parabolic, Eurocode and suction caisson design equations.Copyright © 2007 by ASME