A hybrid multi-criteria approach to GPR image mining applied to water supply system maintenance.

Abstract Data processing techniques for Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) image mining provide essential information to optimize maintenance management of Water Supply Systems (WSSs). These techniques aim to elaborate on radargrams in order to produce meaningful graphical representations of critical buried components of WSSs. These representations are helpful non-destructive evaluation tools to prevent possible failures in WSSs by keeping them adequately monitored. This paper proposes an integrated multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach to prioritize various data processing techniques by means of ranking their outputs, namely their resulting GPR image representations. The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) is applied to weight various evaluation criteria, with the purpose of managing vagueness and uncertainty characterizing experts' judgments. Then, the ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la RÉalité III (ELECTRE III) method is used to obtain the final ranking of alternatives. A real case study, focusing on a set of four GPR images as outputs of different data processing techniques, is presented to prove the usefulness of the proposed hybrid approach. In particular, the GPR images are ranked according the evaluation of five criteria namely visualization, interpretation, identification of features, extraction of information and affordability. The findings offer a structured support in selecting the most suitable data processing technique(s) to explore WSS underground. In the presented case, two options, namely the variance filter and the subtraction methods, offer the best results. Highlights • An integrated multi-criteria approach is proposed to prioritize various data processing techniques for GPR image mining. • Four representations of WSSs are produced by analysis of raw images, multi-agent system, subtraction and variance filter. • The FAHP is applied to weight five evaluation criteria by considering judgments of an expert in the field. • The ELECTRE III method is proposed to rank GPR images and establish the technique more suitable for maintaining WSSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]