An Object-Oriented Computer Program for Structural Reliability Analysis (BI): Components and Methods

Computers have revolutionized engineering calculations in recent years. Some fields in engineering owe their development to the emergence of powerful computers and efficient software. Optimization and reliability analysis are remarkable instances of this kind. This paper introduces a free computer program called BI that has been developed to enhance the calculations of various reliability methods. BI estimates the probability of failure using various methods including the first- and second-order reliability methods; methods based on higher-order statistical moments of random variables; simulation methods such as Monte Carlo sampling, importance sampling, and sequential importance sampling; point estimation methods; and other novel reliability methods such as conjugate finite step length, directional stability transformation, and non-negative constraint. Furthermore, BI provides a combination of unified reliability analysis and the fast integration method to simulate risk analysis based on the Poisson point process for the first time. Furthermore, BI is equipped with reliability-based design optimization for fulfilling structural optimization purposes. This program is not restricted to internal models and functions, but permits the users to define input-oriented scripting model such as finite element models and Python codes. Because the proudest feature of this software is that it is equipped with a numerical fast integration method, the most important and complicated problem as an example of time-dependent reliability analysis is investigated in order to comprehensively review the software features. A full procedure of many numerical examples has been provided on the GitHub page of this software with complete instructions that are given, enabling users to model their own examples step by step. The GitHub page address is: https://github.com/Mehrshad-Ghorbanzadeh/BI