A hybrid spherical fuzzy AHP-MARCOS model for evaluating the condition of saltwater pipes in Hong Kong
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 21 February 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Water pipes degrade over time for a variety of pipe-related, soil-related, operational, and environmental factors. Hence, municipalities are necessitated to implement effective maintenance and rehabilitation strategies for water pipes based on reliable deterioration models and cost-effective inspection programs. In the light of foregoing, the paramount objective of this research study is to develop condition assessment and deterioration prediction models for saltwater pipes in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
As a perquisite to the development of condition assessment models, spherical fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (SFAHP) is harnessed to analyze the relative importance weights of deterioration factors. Afterward, the relative importance weights of deterioration factors coupled with their effective values are leveraged using the measurement of alternatives and ranking according to the compromise solution (MARCOS) algorithm to analyze the performance condition of water pipes. A condition rating system is then designed counting on the generalized entropy-based probabilistic fuzzy C means (GEPFCM) algorithm. A set of fourth order multiple regression functions are constructed to capture the degradation trends in condition of pipelines overtime covering their disparate characteristics.
Findings
Analytical results demonstrated that the top five influential deterioration factors comprise age, material, traffic, soil corrosivity and material. In addition, it was derived that developed deterioration models accomplished correlation coefficient, mean absolute error and root mean squared error of 0.8, 1.33 and 1.39, respectively.
Originality/value
It can be argued that generated deterioration models can assist municipalities in formulating accurate and cost-effective maintenance, repair and rehabilitation programs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from the Innovation and Technology Fund (Innovation and Technology Support Programme (ITSP) under grant number ITS/033/20FP and the Water Supplies Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors and the supporting agencies do not carry any responsibilities or liabilities related to the above findings.
Citation
Elshaboury, N., Zayed, T. and Mohammed Abdelkader, E. (2024), "A hybrid spherical fuzzy AHP-MARCOS model for evaluating the condition of saltwater pipes in Hong Kong", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-08-2023-0777
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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