Statistical analysis of reinforced concrete structures

In this article, a formulation do compute the Hasofer-Lind reliability index is proposed to analyse reinforced concrete structures, taking into account physical and geometrical non-linearities. Non-linear models are adopted to govern the mechanical behaviour of concrete structures taking into account possible large displacement effects, softening behaviour of the concrete and tension-stiffness effects. On the other hand, the statistical model is based on adaptive failure surfaces governed by the mechanical model responses. The failure surface is obtained by approximating the internal force ultimate state of the structure using a low order polynomial. The Hasofer-Lind reliability index of the structure is estimated by the Rackwitz and Fiessler algorithm, which has shown to converge after a reduced amount of iterations.