The failure mode approach, based on ways in which a structure can fail, and the stable
configuration approach, based on ways in which a structure can carry an applied load, were
examined and developed for the determination of the reliability of general redundant structural
systems including systems with brittle components. For a class of structures, in
which the load effects on the surviving elements never decrease with the failures of other
elements, simplified formulations are introduced. Such simplifications result from the fact
