Linear Programming-Based Non-Probabilistic Reliability Bounds Method for Series Systems

Due to the difficulty of accurately predicting system reliability for many engineering structures, bounds on system reliability have received increasing attention. By dealing with structural uncertain parameters with an ellipsoid model, a linear programming-based non-probabilistic reliability bounds method is proposed in this paper for series systems. In this research, a linear programming model is first established, and then several strategies are proposed to simplify the model by removing zero design variables. Three numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed method.