The research consists of the development of an integrated expert system for earthquake-resistant design of building structures, that is capable of providing consultation and decision support for the different phases of the earthquake-resistant design process for buildings. The design of structures for earthquake loads requires specialized knowledge in several inter-related disciplines, which is usually not available at a design office on a routine basis. This expert system will be able to mimic the reasoning process and the decision-making actions of these experts. In the Phase I study, a conceptual architecture and the basic framework for such an expert system was developed. The feasibility of the architecture and the framework was demonstrated by building two prototype modules of the expert system. In this research, based on the architecture so developed, the knowledge, procedures, and judgments/heuristics for different steps in the earthquake-resistant design process are integrated into functioning Knowledge-Based Expert Systems (KBES's). In addition, design and development of the supporting modules and facilities, e.g., interactive user interfaces, design and implementation of local data bases, and a flexible "blackboard" support facility are included. This research represents Phase II of the Small Business Innovation Research Program.
