Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://ptsldigital.ukm.my/jspui/handle/123456789/486824| Title: | Web-based expert system for flexible pavement maintenance in tropical region |
| Authors: | Abdalrhman Abrahim Mohamed Salem (P53260) |
| Supervisor: | Riza Atiq Abdullah O.K. Rahmat, Prof. Dato' Ir. Dr. |
| Keywords: | Pavement Web-based expert Tropical region Maintenance Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia -- Dissertations |
| Issue Date: | 8-Apr-2017 |
| Description: | Maintenance of flexible pavements in tropical regions entails complicated problems, which are influenced by various factors. Experts can provide solutions to these problems only by using their previous experience. The final task of dealing with maintenance problems is to select appropriate solutions. These problems affect the maintenance cost in the long term and the quality of the pavement surface. Although experts could use their previous experience to control and solve these problems, novice engineers cannot. Therefore, a system that enables experts to share their experience with other engineers after completing a project is required. Without this transfer of expertise and knowledge, novices may repeat mistakes that experts have already learned from; this knowledge transfer may be achieved through documentation, classification and computerization of problems. Therefore, this body of knowledge needs to be stored in a computer system. Identifying the causes of maintenance problems and applying appropriate actions and solutions to these problems could help control or prevent them. This paper presents the development of a web-based expert system that can be used by novice engineers to address the problems they encounter during flexible pavement maintenance. The system archives and organises the experiences and knowledge of experts so that these information can be used by others involved in the same field. Literature review shows that no such system has been developed online for the maintenance of flexible pavements. Therefore, the web-based expert system for flexible pavement maintenance problems in tropical regions (ESTAMPSYS) developed in this study is a novel concept. Prior to developing this system, the need for such a system was determined through a literature review and validated through a questionnaire survey. Experts were interviewed, and a questionnaire survey was conducted to construct the knowledge base of the system. Knowledge was provided in the form of rules and coded in software through PHP programming. Web pages that support the user interface were created using a framework consisting of HTML, CSS and J-Query. ESTAMPSYS was verified and validated with extensive testing methods. Unit and integrated testing were performed during coding to correct the code and ensure that each unit performs its function and that all units work together correctly and efficiently. Moreover, the system was verified by five computer professionals who gave the system a score of 4 on a five-point Likert scale. This score indicated that the system fulfilled the set requirements. Two domain experts validated the knowledge base content. Overall, the experts were satisfied with the knowledge base (77%). Furthermore, the system was tested by different users involved in highway engineering, namely, experts, novice engineers, teaching experts and students. The mean values of the overall system evaluation performed by 20 users using a five-point Likert scale were 4, 4.5, 3.75, 4.25, 5, 4 and 3.5. Expert and user satisfaction prove the effectiveness of the proposed system.,Ph.D. |
| Pages: | 186 |
| Publisher: | UKM, Bangi |
| Appears in Collections: | Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment / Fakulti Kejuruteraan dan Alam Bina |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ukmvital_86183+SOURCE1+SOURCE1.0.PDF Restricted Access | 98.87 kB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.