Stochasticity and safety factors: Part 1. Random actual stress and deterministic yield stress

This paper makes a bridge between the classical concept of the safety factor and the structural reliability. It concentrates on a special case in which the material possesses deterministic yield stress, and the element is subjected to the random actual stress. Various probability distribution functions are treated to describe the probabilistic behavior of the stress; reliabilities are evaluated, and the connection with the safety factors is emphasized. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.