Inexact Inference for Rule - Based Damage

The knowledge o r g a n i z a t i o n of a r u l e -based damage assessment system of e x i s t i n g s t r u c t u r e s subj e c t e d t o ear thquake e x c i t a t i o n i s o u t l i n e d i n t h i s p a p e r . A p r i n c i p l e o f i nexac t i n f e r e n c e to o b t a i n a r a t i o n a l s o l u t i o n i s p r e s e n t e d . The f u z zy set t heo ry and the p r o d u c t i o n system w i t h c e r t a i n t y f a c t o r are employed j o i n t l y i n the inexac t i n f e r e n c e to dea l w i t h the cont inuous na tu re o f the damage s t a t e and to a t t a i n the m o d u l a r i t y o f u n c e r t a i n knowledge, r e s p e c t i v e l y .