Abstract
The deterioration processes of civil infrastructures are heterogeneous due to unobservable factors even under the same structural and environmental conditions. In this paper, a Markov hazard model is formulated to characterize the average hazard rates, and is extended to a mixed Markov hazard model by incorporating the heterogeneity in hazard rates. By doing so, the benchmarking model to express the average deterioration processes and the statistical methodology for comparative assessment of the hazard rates of the individual facilities is also presented. The applicability of the methodology presented in this paper is examined against the real world data concerning the bridge members.
