Structural reliability updating and damage assessment with Bayesian networks

This paper discusses a new computational framework for structural reliability updating and damage assessment while traditional reliability method can't handle discrete variables and update. System modeling of traditional Bayesian network was developed with continuous variables discretization and elimination and conditional probability table was computed by structural reliability method. When evidence was available, it facilitated structural reliability updating and damage assessment. The method was applied to: (1) the updating of reliability of a frame; (2) assessment of the damage of two sections if the frame would fail. Contrast to Monte Carlo method shows validity and accuracy of the method proposed.