Structural reliability under non-Gaussian stochastic behavior

One of the important issues in uncertainty analysis is to find an effective way for propagating uncertainty through the system. In this paper, the polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) was selected, since this approach can reduce the computational effort in large-scale engineering design applications. An implementation of PCE for different probability distributions is the focus of this paper. Two existing techniques, a generalized PCE algorithm and transformation methods, are investigated and verified for their accuracy and efficiency for non-normal random variable cases. A highly non-linear structural model of an uninhabitated joined-wing aircraft and a three pin-connected rod structure are used for demonstrating the method.