A reliable visual inspection method for the assessment of r.c. structures through fuzzy logic analysis

The article outlines a new, reliable and robust approach for estimating the vulnerability of reinforced structures, developing a survey methodology based only on visual inspection. Aim of this paper is to obtain an objective assessment of the safety level by manipulating the linguistic judgments using fuzzy logic, chosen for its ability to quantitatively treat the uncertainty of reality and inaccuracy of natural language. In this procedure, the fuzzy rules that are applied to the linguistic judgment are previously stated by experts, technically competent to evaluate the different types of degradations that will be under view and their weight on the overall safety level of the structure. This inference process makes it possible to obtain an objective safety statement from a subjective linguistic statement. The results of visual inspection are then subjective assessments of the structural safety yet easy to obtain employing unskilled operators.