Fuzzy‐Bayesian Approach to Reliability of Existing Structures
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 119, Issue 11
Abstract
Classical reliability has significantly enhanced the ability of engineers to assess the safety of constructed projects. It has been shown that Bayes' theorem is an effective tool in updating prior probabilities when the value of a random parameter is known. However, the preceding theorem usually fails to adequately address the uncertainties of the subjective parameters (such as “the connections are good”) that are associated with structural evaluation. It has been demonstrated that these parameters can be significant to the overall safety assessment. With the introduction of fuzzy‐set theory, it is possible to quantify the qualitative evaluation and incorporate it into the safety assessment. This paper presents an algorithm to compute the posterior probability based on visual inspection of structural components by incorporating fuzzy‐set theory into Bayes' theorem. The results based on two examples—a reinforced concrete beam and a structural frame—showed that the fuzzy‐Bayesian approach is a viable enhancement to the safety assessment of existing structures.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 119 • Issue 11 • November 1993
Pages: 3276 - 3290
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 19, 1991
Published online: Nov 1, 1993
Published in print: Nov 1993
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