Assessing Failure of Bridge Construction Using Fuzzy Fault Tree Analysis

Estimating exact probabilities of occurrence of bridge failure for the use in the conventional fault tree analysis (FTA) is difficult when fault events are imprecise such as human error. A fuzzy FTA model employing fuzzy sets and possibility theory to tackle this problem is proposed. An example of the collapse of cantilever gantry during construction demonstrates the capability of this approach that can assist safety engineer to better evaluate bridge performance.