A Knowledge Based Expert System for Seismic Assessment of Existing Reinforced Concrete Buildings

The present paper describes a knowledge-based expert system for assessment of seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete buildings. The assessment method is a qualitative approach, which is mainly based on the Japanese standard of seismic evaluation of existing buildings with modifications to incorporate the Egyptian code strength requirements. The seismic behaviour of the considered building is judged by comparing an estimated performance index of the building (demand) with a required seismic performance index (supply). For developing the system, object-oriented programming was employed and knowledge is represented in attributes, rules and methods. The forward chaining inference engine, which suits damage assessment problems, was used in developing the system. A user-friendly graphical interface was employed to simplify the system-user interaction.