Reliability Estimation for Highway Bridges
Structural reliability analysis is necessary to predict the uncertainties which may endanger the safety of structures during their lifetime. Structural uncertainties are associated with design, construction and operation stages. In design of structures, different limit states or failure functions are suggested to be considered by design specifications. Load and resistance factors are two essential parameters which have significant impact on evaluating the uncertainties. These load and resistance factors are commonly determined using structural reliability methods. The purpose of this study is to determine the reliability index for a typical highway bridge by considering the maximum moment generated by vehicle live loads on the bridge as a random variable. The limit state function was formulated and reliability index was determined using the First Order Reliability Methods (FORM) method.