**7. References**

[1] Huang K (1987) Statistical Mechanics. John Wiley & Sons, New York; Munster A (1969) Statistical Thermodynamics (volume I). Springer-Verlag, Berlin; Ditlevsen PD (2004) Turbulence and Climate Dynamics. Frydendal, Copenhagen.


© 2012 Opeyemi, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2012 Opeyemi, licensee InTech. This is a paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Stochastic Modelling of Structural Elements** 

One of the primary goals of structural engineers is to assure proper levels of safety for the structures they design. This seemingly simple task is complicated by uncertainties associated with the materials with which the structure was designed and the loads they must resist, as well as our inaccuracies in analysis and design. Structural reliability and probabilistic analysis/design are tools which can be employed to quantify these uncertainties and inaccuracies, and produce designs and design procedures meeting acceptable levels of safety. Recent researches in the area of structural reliability and probabilistic analysis have centred on the development of probability-based design procedures. These include load modelling, ultimate and service load performance and evaluation of current levels of safety/reliability in design (Farid Uddim, 2000; Afolayan,

Deterministic methods are very subjective and are generally not based on a systematic assessment of reliability, especially when we consider their use in the entire structure. These methods can produce structures with some "over designed" components and perhaps some "under designed" components. The additional expense incurred in constructing the over designed components probably does not contribute to the overall reliability of the structure, so this is not a very cost-effective way to produce reliable structures. In other words, it would be better to redirect some of the resources used to build the over designed components toward strengthening the under designed ones. Therefore, there is increasing interest in adopting reliability-based design methods in civil engineering. These methods are intended to quantify reliability, and thus may be used to develop balance designs that are both more reliable and less expensive. Also, according to Coduto (2001), the methods can be used to better evaluate the various sources of failure and use this information to develop design and construction methods that are both more reliable and more robust - one that is insensitive to variations in materials, construction

1999; Afolayan, 2003; Afolayan and Opeyemi, 2008; Opeyemi, 2009).

David Opeyemi

**1. Introduction** 

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/45951

techniques, and environment.

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
