Risk assessment and structural integrity aspects of materials behaviour

Abstract

Risk has always been an inherent part of everyday life, but quantified assessment of risk is now an important part of several different aspects of materials and engineering applications. Risk is taken into account as an integral part of the design of many constructions in limit state design through the use of partial safety factors to achieve a target reliability, depending on the consequences of failure and the uncertainties of the input data and design relationships. Risk is also increasingly being used as a basis for decisions on inspection, maintenance, and life extension of engineering structures and infrastructure. As part of the effective management of projects, assessments of the financial risks both for the client and for the contractor are essential requirements. Environmental risk assessments are obligatory for major projects before decisions to proceed can be taken. The current status of the application of risk analysis methods to avoidance of failure by plastic collapse, fracture, buckling, fatigue, creep, and corrosion is reviewed, and applications in a range of industries are considered. The application of risk analysis to the use of new materials, methods of construction, and life extension is then briefly explored. Finally, the importance of a proper understanding of both risk analysis and materials behaviour for students on degree courses is stressed.