The Weakness of Robustness

Abstract

Having a sufficient degree of robustness is generally believed to be an essential property of a safe structure. However, there is a lot of confusion about the exact meaning of the word as well as the way how this criterion should be interpreted in various circumstances. Of course, the notion has been translated into quite a number of codified rules that can be prescribed by authorities and can be dealt with by designers. Although there is some basic logic in the rules, the background is quite weak. Many studies focus on the structural behavior under extreme conditions, but relatively little research is done on the underlying effectivity and cost efficiency of the applied safety measures. Given the large epistemic uncertainties involved, the reluctance to deal with such issues is understandable. Nevertheless this paper aims at discussing these aspects and making them more prominent on the research agendas.