Bridge Condition Assessment Using D Numbers

Bridge condition assessment is a complex problem influenced by many factors. The uncertain environment increases more its complexity. Due to the uncertainty in the process of assessment, one of the key problems is the representation of assessment results. Though there exists many methods that can de...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xinyang Deng, Yong Hu, Yong Deng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2014-01-01
Series:The Scientific World Journal
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/358057
Description
Summary:Bridge condition assessment is a complex problem influenced by many factors. The uncertain environment increases more its complexity. Due to the uncertainty in the process of assessment, one of the key problems is the representation of assessment results. Though there exists many methods that can deal with uncertain information, however, they have more or less deficiencies. In this paper, a new representation of uncertain information, called D numbers, is presented. It extends the Dempster-Shafer theory. By using D numbers, a new method is developed for the bridge condition assessment. Compared to these existing methods, the proposed method is simpler and more effective. An illustrative case is given to show the effectiveness of the new method.
ISSN:2356-6140
1537-744X