Three-Parameter Gamma Distribution and Its Significance in Structural Reliability

Information on the distribution of the basic random variables is essential for the accurate evaluation of structural reliability. The usual method for determining the distribution is to fit a candidate distribution to the histogram of available statistical data of the variable and perform appropriate goodness-of-fit tests. Generally, such candidate distributions would have two parameters that may be evaluated from the mean value and standard deviation of the statistical data. In the present paper, a-parameter Gamma distribution, whose parameters can be directly defined in terms of the mean value, standard deviation and skewness of available data, is suggested. The flexibility and advantages of the distribution in fitting statistical data and its significance in structural reliability evaluation are identified and discussed. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate these advantages.