Reliability analysis - a review and some perspectives

Theory and methods of structural reliability are briefly summarized and reviewed, both in original and standard space. Some extreme examples demonstrate where and why these methods do not work. Importance sampling schemes for updating approximate probability estimates are described. Algorithmic problems are addressed. Some new fields of potential application are outlined. Most urgent is the development of suitable optimization procedures for structures. Finally, the question of acceptability is discussed and a concept for assessing acceptability limits is described. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.