Decision
problems solved by an engineer with respect to constructing engineering
constructions can be divided
into two groups. The first one comprises tasks
whose structure is well explored and for which it is relatively easy to build a
mathematical model on the basis of which a problem is solved by means of
algorithmic methods. These tasks can be computer-aided by using a large number
of computer tools such as spreadsheets or databases. The other group includes
problems whose structure is poorly explored and for which it is not possible to
apply common optimization algorithms. Solving such problems is most often aided
by
artificial intelligence
systems (expert systems and artificial neural
networks) or, in the case of multi-stage problems, by hybrid applications. The
latter make it possible to apply a variety of different techniques (numeric
processing and artificial intelligence methods) in order to tackle
heterogeneous, complicated decision tasks. The
paper presents sample sets of data, rules and relationships pertaining to
bridge construction, which can be used in order to create a knowledge base for
an expert system or a neural network.