ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: In order to establish a rational bridge maintenance program, it is inevitable to determine the deterioration curves of various components of bridges. However, it is difficult to identify appropriate deterioration curves because of various uncertainties involved in the prediction process and environment evaluation. Furthermore, it is necessary to take into account the effects of natural hazards. Under the situation, although the existing bridges should be kept in a safety condition through inspection and maintenance works, it is not easy to maintain them in a satisfactory level, due to the financial constraints. In this study, an attempt is made to develop an optimal maintenance planning method that can account for the effects of various uncertainties. In the proposed method, an optimal maintenance schedule is obtained with the aid of genetic algorithms, in which the deterioration curve can be treated as a random function. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed method.
