Abstract
Potential usefulness of information entropy is investigated for evaluating engineering systems' safety in terms of reliability, uncertainty and redundancy. The Shannon's information entropy (Khinchin (1957) and Kullback (1959)) can explain of not only a degree of uncertainties involved in systems, but also it can indicate a degree of inherent redundancy of systems. The entropy can gain comprehensively the insight into more than reliability. The system reliability and the redundancy are discussed related with the system configuration, load redistribution after partial damages, material properties and uncertainty in the resistance and loading.
It is clear that the example models are simple prototypes of such systems as highly indeterminate structures and complicated networks of lifelines.
