Reliability analysis of thin-walled cylindrical shells

Abstract

The subject of the article is the verification of the reliability of thin-walled rotationally symmetric cylindrical shells, using probabilistic approaches. Internal forces and stress of the shell are analysed assuming a membrane action. Material and geometric characteristics of the steel shell are considered as random variables. The reliability index is evaluated using the Latin Hypercube Sampling method. The results of the reliability analysis are derived in a general form, so that they may be useful for assessing the reliability of tanks and pipes.