Reliability Of Engineering Computations Through Uncertainty Analyses

The Electrical Engineering Department is hosting Dr. Mehdi Modares, Illinois Tech, as a Guest Speaker for our ECE Research Seminar Series. Dr. Modares will give a talk on, "Reliability Of Engineering Computations Through Uncertainty Analysis.

Abstract

In reliable design of an engineered system, the performance of the system must be guaranteed over its lifetime so that any catastrophic failure may be prevented. However, the parameters for designing such a system possess uncertainties due to physical imperfections, modeling inaccuracies, and system-load interaction complexities. Throughout conventional deterministic engineering analyses, the existence of these uncertainties is not considered.

This presentation explores fundamentals of engineering uncertainty analyses in terms of categorization, state-of-the-art paradigms, and future trends. Isomorphic and polymorphic paradigms based on aleatoric and epistemic uncertainties are discussed. As a case study, a developed method for frequency analysis of a system with bounded uncertainty in its mechanical characteristics is presented. Using this method, it is shown that calculating the bounds on the system frequencies does not require a combinatorial solution or Monte-Carlosimulation procedure.

Biography

Dr. Mehdi Modares is an associate professor and director of structural engineering program in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr. Modares’ research is in condition assessment and reliability of infrastructures. His research is also involved in advanced techniques for uncertainty analysis in engineering computations. He is the author of more than 60 journal and conference publications, book chapters and technical reports. He is also the associate editor for American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction.