Interval Based Finite Elements for Uncertainty Quantification in Engineering Mechanics

This paper illustrates how interval analysis can be used as a basis for generalized models of uncertainty. When epistemic uncertainty is presented as a range and the aleatory is based on available information, or when random variables are assigned an interval probability, the uncertainty will have a Probability Bound (PB) structure. When Interval Monte Carlo (IMC) is used to sample random variables, interval random values are generated. Interval Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to propagate intervals through the system and sharp interval solutions are obtained. Interval solutions are sorted and PBs of the system response are constructed. All relevant statistics are calculated characterizing both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. The above mentioned sequence is presented in this work and illustrative examples are solved.