Modeling dependency in inspection performance

Publication StFa03

Authors

Daniel Straub and Michael H. Faber

Abstract

Non-destructive evaluation of steel structures subject to flaws and fatigue cracks is considered. Hitherto it has been implicitly assumed that inspections of different locations in structural systems are statistically independent. This is, however, generally not the case due to common influencing factors such as envi-ronmental conditions and inspector characteristics. In the present paper the probabilistic modeling of inspec-tion quality is discussed. Considering the different types of uncertainties in the modeling, it is demonstrated how the dependency in inspection performance from one location to another can be accounted for. Bayesian updating of the parameters of the inspection performance models is investigated and possible applications are discussed. Finally it is outlined how the dependency effects can be treated in the context of inspection and maintenance planning.

Published in/by

Proceedings ICASP9, 9th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering, Vol. 2, San Francisco, USA, July 6-9, 2003, pp. 1123-1130.