Oral Presentation Ninth International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering 2025

Fuzzy multi-criteria-decision-making of RC buildings from condition assessment (112878)

Soubhagya Karmakar 1 , Siddhartha Ghosh 2 , Saha Dauji 3
  1. Structural Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay & Department of Atomic Energy, India, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  2. Structural Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  3. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharasthra

Many conventional structures constructed during the last decades of the twentieth century are nearing the end of their design lives. Condition assessment of such conventional structures is an ongoing necessity. Conducting non-destructive and partially destructive tests is essential for the condition assessment. Analyses of the results obtained from these tests often reveal that many buildings fail to meet current provisions related to strength and/ or durability criteria of national standards. Some guidelines/ research work specifies prescriptions for determining the number of different tests. However, there is scarcely any established guidelines/ research work for decision-making towards repairs, retrofitting, or demolition for such buildings. Given the large numbers of such buildings and the scarcity of resources, detailed margin assessment is seldom a viable option. An approach for judicious decision-making based on the results of NDT-PDT would therefore be an extremely handy tool for practicing engineers. This will be useful in striking a correct balance between life safety, regulatory requirements, economic factors, and logistical feasibility in determining the appropriate course of action, and the remaining useful life of structures. This issue is globally relevant, particularly in developing countries, where clear guidelines for such decisions are lacking presently. Moreover, major reforms in existing design/ seismic codes have happened in recent decades. This challenge can be efficiently handled under the framework of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM).  The article aims to establish a comprehensive guideline, based on the MCDM approach, that addresses safety, cost, considerations, and other constraints. To handle the subjective information (visual inspection), or the importance attributed to different strength and/or durability tests, the effectiveness of a fuzzy logic-based approach would be explored. It is envisaged that this article would potentially set a new standard in infrastructure management. This decision-making process integrating deterministic and probabilistic approaches would strive to scientifically adjust the decision boundaries, and extend the remaining life of the structures while ensuring the safety, the regulatory, the feasibility, and the life-cycle cost aspects.