Development and Application of Ancient Timber Buildings Structural Condition Assessment Model Based on a Fuzzy Matter-Element Model that Includes Asymmetric Proximity

To properly protect ancient buildings, it is vitally important to determine the health status of these structures in a timely manner. To easily, quickly, reliably, and quantitatively assess the structure health of ancient timber buildings, this paper proposes a structure health assessment method based on fuzzy matter-element theory improved by asymmetric proximity, and the specific assessment steps are given. First, a fuzzy matter-element model is constructed; then, to effectively solve the failure problem of the maximum membership principle, the fuzzy matter-element assessment model is improved by using the theory of asymmetric proximity. The weights determined by the entropy weight and clustering methods are then combined through the game theory combination weighting concept and, finally, the structural condition of the ancient timber buildings is classified into five grades: I favorable, II ordinary, III poor, IV inferior, and V dangerous. Ten evaluation factors were chosen: bearing capacity of the foundation soil, subbase deformation, foundation damage, column and foundation connection, bearing capacity of members, connection construction, member deformation, crack slope, crack depth, and decayed/insect attacked. Taking a building built in the Republican Period in Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li, Chengdu, as an example, this model was used to assess the building’s structural condition. The results show that this method is feasible to quantitatively assess the structural condition of ancient timber buildings. It is a simple and practical assessment method that can provide a decision-making basis for maintenance, protection, and reinforcement of ancient timber buildings.