Application of inverse reliability method to estimation of flutter safety factors of suspension bridges

An efficient and accurate algorithm is proposed to estimate flutter safety factor of suspension bridges satisfying prescribed reliability levels. Uncertainties which arise from the basic wind speed at the bridge deck location, critical flutter velocity, the wind conversion factor from a scaled model to the prototype structure and the gust speed factor are incorporated. The proposed algorithm integrates the concepts of the inverse reliability method and the calculation method of the critical flutter velocity of suspension bridges. The unique feature of the proposed method is that it offers a tool for flutter safety assessment of suspension bridges, when the reliability level is specified as a target to be satisfied by the designer. Accuracy and efficiency of this method with reference to three example suspension bridges is studied and numerical results validate its superiority over conventional deterministic method. Finally, the effects of various parameters on the flutter safety factor of suspension bridges are also investigated.