Limit-state surface element method: Application to fatigue reliability with NDE inspections

A new method, named the limit-state surface element (LSSE) method, for problems in structural reliability is presented. The method is based on discretization of the limit-state surface into a finite number of elements. This allows for better representations of the failure surface in regions of high curvature than is possible with standard FORM techniques. The reliability is estimated as a sum of integrals over subdomains in the space of standard normal variables associated with the surface elements. Several benchmark problems are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and utility of the method, and a problem in fatigue reliability with NDE inspections is presented as a practical application of the method and a demonstration of the potential interrelations between QNDE and reliability assessment.