A Novel Algorithm for Structural Reliability Analysis Based on Finite Step Length and Armijo Line Search

Abstract

This paper presents a novel algorithm for structural reliability analysis based on the finite step length and Armijo line search to remove the drawbacks of the Hasofer−Lind and Rakwitz−Fiessler (HL-RF) algorithm that may be subjected to non-convergence in the first-order reliability method (FORM). Initially, the sensitivity factor with finite step length is introduced for preventing the iterative process of the algorithm from entering a periodic loop. Subsequently, an optimization method based on the sufficient descent condition with the Armijo line search technique is proposed. With that, the initial step length and adjusting coefficient are optimized to enhance the applicability of the algorithm emphatically for highly nonlinear functions. A comparison analysis is carried out between the proposed algorithm and existing FORM-based algorithms to validate the robustness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm. The results of this demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is superior to the HL-RF algorithm in terms of robustness and surpass the other existing FORM-based algorithms in connection to efficiency.

Keywords

• reliability analysis
• first-order reliability method
• HL-RF algorithm
• finite step length
• Armijo line search