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Rare Event Probability Estimation in the Presence of Epistemic Uncertainty on Input Probability Distribution Parameters

Author

Listed:
  • Mathieu Balesdent

    (Onera - The French Aerospace Lab)

  • Jérôme Morio

    (Onera - The French Aerospace Lab)

  • Loïc Brevault

    (Onera - The French Aerospace Lab
    CNES - Launchers Directorate)

Abstract

The accurate estimation of rare event probabilities is a crucial problem in engineering to characterize the reliability of complex systems. Several methods such as Importance Sampling or Importance Splitting have been proposed to perform the estimation of such events more accurately (i.e., with a lower variance) than crude Monte Carlo method. However, these methods assume that the probability distributions of the input variables are exactly defined (e.g., mean and covariance matrix perfectly known if the input variables are defined through Gaussian laws) and are not able to determine the impact of a change in the input distribution parameters on the probability of interest. The problem considered in this paper is the propagation of the input distribution parameter uncertainty defined by intervals to the rare event probability. This problem induces intricate optimization and numerous probability estimations in order to determine the upper and lower bounds of the probability estimate. The calculation of these bounds is often numerically intractable for rare event probability (say 10−5), due to the high computational cost required. A new methodology is proposed to solve this problem with a reduced simulation budget, using the adaptive Importance Sampling. To this end, a method for estimating the Importance Sampling optimal auxiliary distribution is proposed, based on preceding Importance Sampling estimations. Furthermore, a Kriging-based adaptive Importance Sampling is used in order to minimize the number of evaluations of the computationally expensive simulation code. To determine the bounds of the probability estimate, an evolutionary algorithm is employed. This algorithm has been selected to deal with noisy problems since the Importance Sampling probability estimate is a random variable. The efficiency of the proposed approach, in terms of accuracy of the found results and computational cost, is assessed on academic and engineering test cases.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathieu Balesdent & Jérôme Morio & Loïc Brevault, 2016. "Rare Event Probability Estimation in the Presence of Epistemic Uncertainty on Input Probability Distribution Parameters," Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 197-216, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:metcap:v:18:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11009-014-9411-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11009-014-9411-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Limbourg, Philipp & de Rocquigny, Etienne & Andrianov, Guennadi, 2010. "Accelerated uncertainty propagation in two-level probabilistic studies under monotony," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 998-1010.
    5. Morio, Jérôme, 2011. "Non-parametric adaptive importance sampling for the probability estimation of a launcher impact position," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 178-183.
    6. Helton, Jon C., 2011. "Quantification of margins and uncertainties: Conceptual and computational basis," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 96(9), pages 976-1013.
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    Cited by:

    1. Youngjun Choe & Henry Lam & Eunshin Byon, 2018. "Uncertainty Quantification of Stochastic Simulation for Black-box Computer Experiments," Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1155-1172, December.
    2. Chabridon, Vincent & Balesdent, Mathieu & Bourinet, Jean-Marc & Morio, Jérôme & Gayton, Nicolas, 2018. "Reliability-based sensitivity estimators of rare event probability in the presence of distribution parameter uncertainty," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 164-178.
    3. Sarazin, Gabriel & Morio, Jérôme & Lagnoux, Agnès & Balesdent, Mathieu & Brevault, Loïc, 2021. "Reliability-oriented sensitivity analysis in presence of data-driven epistemic uncertainty," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).

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