Contributions by Marie Sklodowska-Curie TRUSS-ITN towards reducing uncertainty in structural safety of buildings, roads, energy and marine infrastructure

There is multitude of models available
to assess structural safety based on a set of input parameters. As the degree
of complexity of the models increases, the uncertainty of their output tends to
decrease. However, more complex models typically require more input parameters,
which may contain a higher degree of uncertainty. Therefore, it becomes
necessary to find the balance that, for a particular scenario, will reduce the
overall uncertainty (model + parameters) in structural safety. The latter is
the objective of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network titled
TRUSS (Training in Reducing Uncertainty in Structural Safety) funded by the EU
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (http://trussitn.eu). This paper describes how TRUSS addresses uncertainty in: (a)  structural reliability of materials such as basalt fiber reinforced polymer, (b) testing techniques in the assessment of
concrete strength in buildings, (c) numerical methods in computing the
non-linear response of submerged nuclear components subjected to an earthquake,
(d) estimation of life of wind turbines, (e) the optimal inspection times and
management strategies for ships, (f) characterization of the dynamic response
of ship unloaders and (g) the relationship between vehicles fuel consumption
and pavement condition.