Probabilistic analysis of a space truss is presented in the paper. Reliability of such a structure is sensitive to geometrical and material imperfections. The objective of this paper is to present a variant of the point estimate method (PEM) to determine mean values and standard deviations of limit loads of engineering structures. The main advantage presented by this method is the small number of sample calculations required to obtain estimators of investigated parameters. Thus the method is straightforward, requiring only preliminaries of probability theory. This approach is illustrated by limit state analysis of a space truss, considering geometric and material imperfections. The calculations were performed for different random models, so the influence of random parameters on the limit load of the truss can be determined. A realistic snow load was imposed.

The calculations of fuel tanks should take into account the geometric imperfections of the structure as well as the variability of the material parameters of the foundation. The deformation of the tank shell can have a significant impact on the limit state of the structure and its operating conditions. The paper presents a probabilistic analysis of a vertical-axis, floating-roof cylindrical shell of a tank with a capacity of 50000 m3 placed on stratified soil with heterogeneous material parameters. The impact of a random subsoil description was estimated using the Point Estimated Method (PEM). In this way, the number of analyzed FEM models was significantly reduced. This approach also makes it possible to assess the sensitivity of tank settlement and deformation to the changing foundation conditions.