Study on Feasibility of Applying Function Approximation Moment Method to Achieve Reliability-Based Design Optimization

Robust optimization or reliability-based design optimization are some of the methodologies that are employed to take into account the uncertainties of a system at the design stage. For applying such methodologies to solve industrial problems, accurate and efficient methods for estimating statistical moments and failure probability are required, and further, the results of sensitivity analysis, which is needed for searching direction during the optimization process, should also be accurate. The aim of this study is to employ the function approximation moment method into the sensitivity analysis formulation, which is expressed as an integral form, to verify the accuracy of the sensitivity results, and to solve a typical problem of reliability-based design optimization. These results are compared with those of other moment methods, and the feasibility of the function approximation moment method is verified. The sensitivity analysis formula with integral form is the efficient formulation for evaluating sensitivity because any additional function calculation is not needed provided the failure probability or statistical moments are calculated.