Research on Safety Risk Management of a Steel Bracing System Based on Catastrophe Theory

The stability of a steel bracing system is one of the most important indicators by which to measure the stability of the foundation pit. Although a steel bracing system can be monitored using the axial force data, it is subject to the risk of sudden changes due to certain factors and has the characteristics of dynamic discontinuity. Therefore, safety risk management should be applied to the mutability of steel bracing systems to ensure stability. We used the steel bracing system of a foundation pit in Ningbo City, China, as the research object. First, through fault tree analysis (FTA) of the characteristics of the steel bracing system, a safety risk identification of the catastrophe risk was carried out. Second, the safety risk was standardized, and a safety risk evaluation index system was established; the validity and stability of the index system were then verified. Next, a catastrophe theory-based evaluation model was established to determine the safety risk level of the steel bracing system. Finally, a steel bracing risk management process was designed, and a safety risk response was proposed based on the results of the evaluation model. The result was that the membership function value belongs to the general risk area, which accords with the actual state of steel bracing in engineering, and subsequent safety risk response measures can be applied. The proposed method performs well in identifying the risk of sudden changes in steel bracing systems; it also rates the risk and offers response measures to ensure the stability of the steel bracing system. Additionally, this method is of significance due to its applicability in various projects.

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