Uncertainty Quantification in Structural Engineering Problems using Improved Interval Analysis

Abstract

Realistic numerical modeling of structural systems is essential for obtaining accurate and efficient predictions of system performance. A major challenge in this context is the proper mathematical description of uncertainties affecting numerical models and parameters under limited data. Several uncertainty models beyond the probabilistic confines are currently being used to perform uncertainty quantification in engineering systems. These models are commonly cast within a generalized framework including probabilistic, non-probabilistic (interval model, fuzzy sets, etc.), and mixed or hybrid probabilistic/non-probabilistic approaches.

This lecture addresses uncertainty quantification in structural engineering problems under limited data, using the interval model. Efficient propagation strategies are presented, derived from suitable extensions of classical structural analysis methods within the framework of the Improved Interval Analysis. By leveraging the computing power of finite element solvers, these strategies allow the analysis of complex structural systems with interval parameters, thereby enhancing the application of non-probabilistic approaches in structural design practice.

Bio

Alba Sofi is currently an Associate Professor of Mechanics of Solids and Structures at the University “Mediterranea” of Reggio Calabria, Italy. In 2017, she obtained the National Scientific Qualification as a Full Professor. Dr. Sofi received her Ph.D. degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Palermo, Italy. She held Visiting Fellow positions at the University of Oxford (UK) and the University of New South Wales (Australia). Additionally, she was a Visiting Scholar at Rice University (USA) and a Visiting Professor at Xidian University and Guangzhou University in China. She serves as the Managing Editor of the ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part B: Mechanical Engineering, and is a member of the Editorial Board of several international journals, including the International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics and Advances in Engineering Software. She serves as the 2nd Vice-Chair of the ASME Safety Engineering & Risk Analysis Division.

Dr. Sofi received the Editor’s Award for the Best Paper published in 2020 in the ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part B: Mechanical Engineering. She co-chaired the 9th International Workshop on Reliable Engineering Computing (REC 2021) and has served on the scientific committees of many international conferences.

Dr. Sofi’s research interests encompass several areas, including stochastic dynamics, uncertainty quantification with specific expertise in interval analysis, fractional calculus, bridge-vehicle dynamic interaction, cable dynamics, and non-local elasticity theory.