Uncertainties play a dominant role in the design and optimization of structures and infrastructures. In optimum design of structural systems due to variations of the material, manufacturing variations, variations of the external loads and modelling uncertainty, the parameters of a structure, a structural system and its environment are not given, fixed coefficients, but random variables with a certain probability distribution. The increasing necessity to solve complex problems in Structural Optimization, Structural Reliability and Probabilistic Mechanics, requires the development of new ideas, innovative methods and numerical tools for providing accurate numerical solutions in affordable computing times. This book presents the latest findings on structural optimization considering uncertainties. It contains selected contributions dealing with the use of probabilistic methods for the optimal design of different types of structures and various considerations of uncertainties. The first part is focused on reliability-based design optimization and the second part on robust design optimization. Comprising twenty-one, self-contained chapters by prominent authors in the field, it forms a complete collection of state-of-the-art theoretical advances and applications in the fields of structural optimization, structural reliability, and probabilistic computational mechanics. It is recommended to researchers, engineers, and students in civil, mechanical, naval and aerospace engineering and to professionals working on complicated costs-effective design problems.

The increasing necessity to solve complex problems in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering requires the development of new ideas, innovative methods and numerical tools for providing accurate numerical solutions in affordable computing times. This book presents the latest scientific developments in Computational Dynamics, Stochastic Dynamics, Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering in thirty-five self-contained contributions. The selected state-of-the-art chapters are revised and extended versions of the papers which were presented as plenary, semi-plenary and keynote lectures at the thematic COMPDYN 2007 Conference. This volume will benefit researchers and engineering professionals working on structural dynamics, earthquake engineering and computational mechanics. Readers will get acquainted with advanced computational methods and software tools, which can assist them in tackling complex problems in dynamic/seismic analysis and design. Moreover, it will raise the awareness of important application areas and the social impact of the scientific and technical fields involved.