Enhanced soft Monte Carlo simulation coupled with support vector regression for structural reliability analysis

Abstract

In structural reliability analysis, it is a major challenge to develop a general method that can ensure high computational accuracy and low computational cost for low failure probability and high-dimensional problems. In this study, a novel enhanced simulation method termed enhanced soft Monte Carlo simulation coupled with support vector regression (EMCS-SVR) is proposed. First, a generalized enhanced simulation (ES) scaling formula is proposed as an improved scheme. Furthermore, the soft Monte Carlo simulation is combined with generalized ES scaling formula and SVR model for evaluating the failure probability. The efficiency and accuracy of the ESMCS-SVR are verified by comparing with an existing popular method in four numerical examples and three engineering examples.