Application of Generic Algorithm to Inspection Planning of Fatigue Deteriorating Structure

Genetic Algorithm (GA) is applied to obtain optimal Inspection plan for fatigue deteriorating structures. The optimization problem is defined so as to minimize inspection cost in the 1ifs-time of the structure under the constraint that the increment of failure probability in each inspection interval is maintained below a target value. Optimization parameters are the inspection timing and the inspection quality. The inspection timing is selected from the discrete intervals such as one year, two years, three years, etc. The inspection quality is selected from the followings; no inspection, normal inspection, sampling inspection or precise inspection. The applicability of the proposed GA approach is demonstrated through the numerical calculations assuming a structure consisting of four member sets. Influences of the level of target failure probability, initial defect condition and stress increase due to plate thickness reduction caused by corrosion on inspection planning are discussed.