Reliability Sensitivity Analysis Method for Mechanical Components

Based on the univariate dimension-reduction method (UDRM), Edgeworth series, and sensitivity analysis, a new method for reliability sensitivity analysis of mechanical components is proposed. The univariate dimension-reduction method is applied to calculate the response origin moments and their sensitivity with respect to distribution parameters (e.g., mean and standard deviation) of fundamental input random variables. Edgeworth series is used to estimate failure probability of mechanical components by using first few response central moments. The analytic formula of reliability sensitivity can be derived by calculating partial derivative of the failure probability with respect to distribution parameters of basic random variables. The nonnormal random parameters need not to be transformed into equivalent normal ones. Three numerical examples are employed to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method by comparing the failure probability and reliability sensitivity results obtained by the proposed method with those obtained by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS).