In recent times it has been recognized that, in real life, loads and material properties, such as yield strength, are not unique but are more completely described by a spread of values that can be represented by statistical distributions. A new methodology, called the Robust Engineering Design-by-Reliability (REDBR) methodology, is presented here to address the scatter in the design variables. This unique methodology enables the quantification of the reliability designed into components and to design components to specified reliabilities.

The theoretical concepts of the Finite Element Method (FEM), Monte Carlo Simulation, Response Surface and Stress-Strength interference methods have been known for some time, but this study presents an integrated approach to these techniques by utilizing the ANSYS and Weibull++ software packages.

The methodology is illustrated through an example, the obtained results are discussed and valuable conclusions are drawn.