Fuzzy Systems in the Service-Life Prediction of Exterior Natural Stone Claddings
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 30, Issue 5
Abstract
Buildings and their elements are designed to be used for a certain period of time (their service life), fulfilling all requirements for which they were designed without excessive maintenance costs. However, buildings begin to deteriorate because the instant they are put into use, they begin to show a progressive loss of performance until they become obsolete, having deteriorated beyond minimal acceptable levels or having failed to meet economic expectations. Nowadays, mostly for economic and environmental reasons, there is a growing concern about the durability and service life of buildings. This paper discusses the service life prediction of natural stone claddings using a Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy model. The models proposed include variables that influence the degradation of the claddings analyzed. To obtain the models proposed, samples of 140 and 203 façades were subjected to meticulous field work to determine their condition. The service life of the samples was also evaluated and the influence of the characteristics of the claddings on degradation was analyzed. This study demonstrates the usefulness of fuzzy systems to evaluate the service life of exterior stone claddings.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Centre of Intelligent Systems/IDMEC, the CERis-ICIST Research Institute, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), the University of Lisbon, and FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), which supported this work under LAETA Pest-OE/EME/LA0022.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 30 • Issue 5 • October 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 19, 2015
Accepted: Oct 28, 2015
Published online: Jan 7, 2016
Discussion open until: Jun 7, 2016
Published in print: Oct 1, 2016
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