Third-moment standardization for structural reliability analysis

First- and second-order reliability methods are generally considered to be among the most useful for computing structural reliability. In these methods, the uncertainties included in resistances and loads are generally expressed as continuous random variables that have a known cumulative distribution function. The Rosenblatt transformation is a fundamental requirement for structural reliability analysis. However, in practical applications, the cumulative distribution functions of some random variables are unknown, and the probabilistic characteristics of these variables may be expressed using only statistical moments. In the present study, a structural reliability analysis method with inclusion of random variables with unknown cumulative distribution functions is suggested. Normal transformation methods that make use of high-order moments are investigated, and an accurate third-moment standardization function is proposed. Using the proposed method, the normal transformation for random variables with unknown cumulative distribution functions can be realized without using the Rosenblatt transformation. Through the numerical examples presented, the proposed method is found to be sufficiently accurate to include the random variables with unknown cumulative distribution functions in the first- and second-order reliability analyses with little extra computational effort.