Reliability analysis of rectangular plate under in-plane tensile loading using continuum damage mechanics theory

In this paper, the reliability of rectangular plates without holes and containing a central circular hole under static tensile load has been studied. To investigate the initiation and evolution of damages, continuum damage mechanics approach together with finite element has been used. Constitutive equations with scalar damage have been obtained for the plate and implemented in finite element code, ABAQUS.  To analyze the probability of failure the first/second order reliability methods have been used and then, limit state function and random variables according to the continuum damage mechanics model obtained. The force-displacement curves for various sizes of the hole are obtained. With the addition of a central hole in a plate with a diameter of 2 to 10 mm, failure load is reduced by approximately 60 to 80%, which is consistent with the concepts of stress concentration. Finally, the probability of failure of each plate with different hole sizes is approximated and sensitivity analysis on the coefficient of variation is performed. The reliability of the specimen with a diameter of 10 mm has the lowest value, while the plate without a hole has the highest value and among the random variables, the critical damage is the most effective one in reliability.