ABSTRACT
Robustness has been appointed as a desirable property of systems in order to avoid significant indirect consequences caused by extreme events. In fact, robustness is usually related to global failure or collapse. Nevertheless, its definition is not consensual, having led researchers to propose several quantitative measures. In this work, an intuitive framework for the assessment of robustness as a probabilistic performance indicator of bridges to be applied either to ultimate limit states or service limit state is discussed. The research strategy consists in a review of the state-of-art of robustness of structures, aiming to identify the suitable quantitative procedures to assess system robustness and its contributing attributes. A non-linear finite element model of an existing pre-stressed concrete bridge was used to assess bridge structural performance when it is subjected to several damage scenarios. By means of a probabilistic approach, the load carrying capacity and structural safety are evaluated through advanced reliability analysis techniques.
