Developing a Model to Predict Bleeding Areas in Asphalt Pavements Using Artificial Neural Network

The power capacity of solar photovoltaics (PVs) in Korea has grown dramatically in recent years, and an accurate estimation of solar resources is crucial for the efficient management of these solar PV systems. Since the number of solar irradiance measurement sites is insufficient for Korea, satellite images can be useful sources for estimating solar irradiance over a wide area of Korea. In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was constructed to calculate hourly global horizontal solar irradiance (GHI) from Korea Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) Meteorological Imager (MI) images. Solar position variables and five COMS MI channels were used as inputs for the ANN model. The basic ANN model was determined to have a window size of five for the input satellite images and two hidden layers, with 30 nodes on each hidden layer. After these ANN parameters were determined, the temporal and spatial applicability of the ANN model for solar irradiance mapping was validated. The final ANN ensemble model, which calculated the hourly GHI from 10 independent ANN models, exhibited a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.975 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 54.44 W/m² (12.93%), which were better results than for other remote-sensing based works for Korea. Finally, GHI maps for Korea were generated using the final ANN ensemble model. This COMS-based ANN model can contribute to the efficient estimation of solar resources and the improvement of the operational efficiency of solar PV systems for Korea.

This study focuses on the critical aspect of skid resistance in asphalt pavements, an essential factor for ensuring road safety. Several factors, including pavement texture, aggregate properties, and environmental conditions, influence skid resistance. Utilizing data from the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database, this research develops an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to predict skid resistance based on a comprehensive array of inputs such as traffic volume, pavement age, asphalt content, and environmental factors. A key outcome of this study is the derivation of an explicit algebraic equation that fully represents the trained ANN model, allowing practitioners to compute Friction Number (FN) without running the whole model. The model was trained with data involving 135 GPS pavement sections across various climate zones in the United States, achieving a robust Coefficient of Determination (R²) of 0.87, a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 2.52, a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 2.04, and a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 4.4%. The findings underscore the significant impact of traffic loads, pavement age, and environmental conditions on skid resistance. The study’s methodology and findings contribute to the broader understanding of pavement management and safety strategies, providing a valuable tool for predicting and maintaining optimal skid resistance in asphalt pavements. Recommendations for future research include expanding the dataset and refining the model with additional influential factors to enhance prediction accuracy and reliability.

Angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) gene, as a component of Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS), regulates blood pressure as it converts somatic isozyme Angiotensin I into physiologically active peptide Angiotensin II and simultaneously brakes down bradykinins. Over 100 polymorphisms are reported for ACE gene. Most of these polymorphisms having no phenotypic effect relay the attention towards polymorphisms based on insertions (I) or deletions (D) of a 287 bp Alu repeat sequence in 16th intron. There are three possible genotypes for the stated polymorphism: DD, DI or II. There have been a lot of studies searching for direct associations between ACE polymorphisms and performance phenotypes along different sports requiring power or endurance. The previous experiments are based on the performance criteria but direct associations of ACE polymorphisms are not fully understood until today. We believe different approaches may aid scientist to plot the big picture. A sample population of 101 individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina contributed to sample pool of the initial project. Buccal swabs from 101 samples were collected along with a phenotypic structure and environmental characteristic survey which was filled by each individual himself/herself. Genotypes of the individuals were obtained after isolation, amplification and gel electrophoresis of biological samples collected as buccal swabs. A total of 165 artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed considering the input parameters, possible genotype outputs, applied algorithm and sample size. The aim of developing various ANNs was to validate a possible ACE polymorphism genotype prediction algorithm based on phenotypic and environmental characteristics of individuals, in other words, without any biological testing. A two-layered feed-forward network, with sigmoid hidden neurons was designed to perform the classification of input data. Trainscg (Scaled Conjugate Gradient) activation function was used in hidden layer since classification of data was non-linear. All ANN models were trained with scaled conjugate gradient backpropagation. ANN models differing in the parameters has shown different accuracy in the results. Most outstanding result was observed in the ANN build composed of 2 distinctive layers with 500 neurons in the first and 3 neurons in the second layer. Trained with 70% of samples and verified with 15% of samples and validated with an additional 50 samples. Training set was composed of the following subject parameters; gender, eye color, hair color, height, weight, presence of hypertension in family and presence of cardiovascular diseases in family. The highest prediction accuracy was obtained as 86,6 % training score, 78,6 % testing score and 80,2 % overall score in genotype prediction for ACE polymorphisms. With further development of data collection and high resolution analysis, overall score could be boosted. Also, phenotypical data can be applied as markers of genotypes in ACE polymorphisms.

Purpose – This paper aims to predict the needle penetration force (NPF) in denim fabrics using the artificial neural network (ANN) and multiple linear regression (MLR) models based on the effects of various sewing parameters. Design/methodology/approach – In order to design the ANN and MLR models, four parameters including fabric weight, number of fabric layers, weave pattern, and sewing needle size are taken into account as the input parameters and NPF as the output parameter. According to these parameters, 140 samples of data were resulted. Each sample was tested five times. From these 140 data (input-output data pairs), 112 were used for training the ANN and MLR models and 28 samples were used to test the performance of ANN and MLR. Also, the NPF was measured on the Instron tensile tester to simulate sewing process. Findings – The results indicated that the NPF in denim fabrics can be well predicted in terms of sewing parameters by using ANN and MLR models, in which the ANN model exhibits greater performance than MLR (RANN=0.989> RMLR=0.901). Research limitations/implications – The NPF measurement method is limited at low speed. Originality/value – Using the ANN model for forecasting NPF in denim fabrics can help the garment manufactures to produce high-quality denim products and improve the sewing process through reducing seam damage. The NPF could be also measured in the cycle loading conditions similar to sewing machine process by using a special designed tools mounted on the Instron tensile tester.

Introduction Atmospheric corrosion is the main cause of metallic heritage degradation when they are exposed to relative humidity, temperature cycle and air contaminants. Corrosivity maps are one of the preventive strategies for atmospheric corrosion mitigation, but they do not provide enough information about corrosion mechanism, besides that long experimentation periods are required [1]. Moreover, electrochemical techniques are alternatives to speed up results, but their relationship with constantly changing environmental variables is difficult to control.Currently, Artificial Intelligence has been introduced in corrosion engineering studies, because of its capability to make predictions based on big data. Also, experimental data of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy had been used in Artificial Neural Network training to obtain Nyquist Diagrams [2]. The objective of this work is to obtain computational models of Artificial Neural Networks to predict atmospheric corrosion in Bronze with nanostructured patina with SiO2, in marine environments. Method Environmental parameters were taken from database previously reported [3,4], and from Civil Protection Secretariat of Veracruz. Whilst electrochemical evaluation consists in Polarization Resistance and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy; they were carried out in a Gamry Interface 1000 Potentiostat with a Saturated Calomel Reference Electrode (SCE) and a graphite bar as counter electrode in an agar gelled cell. Meanwhile, working electrode was bronze with nanostructured patina with SiO2. Two patina were prepared, the first with CuSO4 solution (0.015 mol L-1) and the second applying a CuNO3 solution (20% wt).The 13 variables used in the database for Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) training were: exposure time, chloride concentration, sulfur compounds concentration, relative humidity, precipitation level, windspeed, temperature, nanocoating presence, corrosion potential, corrosion rate, frequency, real and imaginary component of impedance. The values of each variable were treated with measures of central tendency and dispersion, as well as correlation matrix and histograms, which allowed to find a relationship between variables, and choosing the inputs for ANN. The prediction models consisted in 5, 9, 10 and 12 neurons in the input layer (R5E, R9E, R10E and R12E, respectively), a hidden layer, and Zima as only neuron in the output layer. The number of neurons in hidden layer varied from 1 to 8 until the highest coefficient of determination was achieved. The computational model was performed using the toolbox in MATLAB with a feedforward ANN. It is worth mention that the hidden and output layers used a hyperbolic tangent and a linear transfer function, respectively, and a Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm as training function was used in the models. Results and Conclusions Figure 1 presents the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean squared error (RMSE) with different ANN architectures. In the four models, the highest value was reached with 8 neurons in the hidden layer. Then, the linear regressions for R5E, R9E, R10E and R12E models and 8 neurons in the input layer were compared in Figure 2. In that sense, the Nyquist Diagrams in Figure 3 were simulated with the R9E and R12E models. Also, they were compared with experimental Nyquist Diagrams for Bronze with patina of CuSO4 and CuNO3, with and without SiO2 nanoparticles, at 56 days of exposure in marine atmospheres. The simulations demonstrated how an ANN model with 12 neurons in the input layer, 8 neurons in the hidden layer and 1 neuron in the output layer can be used as a corrosion prediction model of bronze with nanostructured patina with SiO2.

Castellated steel beams (CSB) are an attractive option for the steel construction industry thanks to outstanding advantages, such as the ability to exceed large span, lightweight, and allowing flexible arrangement of the technical pipes through beams. In addition, the complex localized and global failures characterizing these structural members have led researchers to focus on the development of efficient design guidelines. This paper aims to propose an artificial neural network (ANN) model with optimal architecture to predict the load‐carrying capacity of CSB with a scheme of the simple beam bearing load located at the center of the beam. The ANN model is built with 9 input variables, which are essential parameters equivalent to the geometrical properties and mechanical properties of the material, such as the overall depth of the castellated beam, the vertical projection of the inclined side of the opening, the web thickness, the flange width, the flange thickness, the width of web post at middepth, the horizontal projection of inclined side of the opening, the minimum web yield stress, and the minimum flange yield stress. The output variable is the load‐carrying capacity of the CSB. With the optimal ANN architecture [9‐1‐1] containing one hidden layer, the performance of the ANN model is evaluated based on statistical criteria such as R2, RMSE, and MAE. The results show that the optimal ANN model is a highly effective predictor of the load‐carrying capacity of the CSB with the best value of R2 = 0.989, RMSE = 3.328, and MAE = 2.620 for the testing part. The ANN model seems to be the best algorithm of machine learning for predicting the CSB load‐carrying capacity.

In this study, barley yield has been estimated via radial basis function network (RBF) and feed-forward neural networks (GFF) models of artificial neural network (ANNs) in Torbat-Heydarieh of Iran. For this purpose, a dataset consists of 200 data at three levels of irrigation with well water, industrial wastewater (sugar factory wastewater), a combination of well water and wastewater in two levels (complete irrigation and irrigation with 75 % water stress) and soil characteristics of area were used as input parameters. To achieve this goal, based on the number of data and inputs, 200 barley field experiments data set were used, of which 80 % (160 data) was used for the training and 20 % (40 data) for the testing the network. The results showed that RBF model has high potential in estimating barley yield with Levenberg Marquardt training and 4 hidden layers. Also the values of statistical parameters R2 and RMSE were 0.81 and the 33.12, respectively. In general, the results showed that ANNs model is able to better estimate the barley yield when irrigation water level parameter with well water is selected as input.

This study presents an innovative application of the Taguchi design of experiment method to optimize the structure of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for the prediction of elastic properties of short fiber reinforced composites. The main goal is to minimize the computational effort required for hyperparameter optimization while enhancing the prediction accuracy. By utilizing a robust experimental design framework, the structure of an ANN model is optimized. This approach involves identifying a combination of hyperparameters that provides optimal predictive accuracy with the fewest algorithmic runs, thereby significantly reducing the required computational effort. The results suggested that the Taguchi-based developed ANN model with three hidden layers, 20 neurons in each hidden layer, elu activation function, Adam optimizer, and a learning rate of 0.001 can predict the anisotropic elastic properties of short fiber reinforced composites with a prediction accuracy of 97.71 %. Then, external validation of the proposed ANN model was done using experimental data, and differences of less than 10 % were obtained, indicating an appropriate predictive performance of the proposed ANN algorithm. Our findings demonstrate that the Taguchi method not only streamlines the hyperparameter tuning process but also substantially improves the algorithm's performance. These results highlight the potential of the Taguchi method as a powerful tool for optimizing machine learning algorithms, especially in scenarios where computational resources are limited. The implications of this study are far-reaching, offering insights for future research in the optimization of different algorithms for improved accuracies and computational efficiencies.

Characterization of the exact critical current density (Jc) and stress values in twisted superconducting tapes plays an important role for analysing their magnetic, thermal, and mechanical behaviours. In this paper, a model based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is introduced to estimate the electro-magneto-mechanical characteristic of different superconducting tapes. For this purpose, magnetic flux density, temperature, strain, total thickness of tape, their width, thickness of stabilisers, and thickness of substrates are used as inputs to ANN model whilst minimum normalised Jc and maximum stress are considered as outputs. The required experimental data are extracted from published papers in literature. The ANN model was trained for Jc/stress estimation using extracted data for different inputs. Sensitivity analysis was conducted on ANN models which were used to estimate the Jc and stress values of tapes, to choose an optimum structure for ANN models to be used in future by other scientists in the superconductivity community. To check the reproducibility, repeatability, and stability of presented results, the estimations with ANN optimum structure were tested for 500 testing runs. We found that the ANN optimum structure was as 1 hidden layer with Levenberg-Marquardt training method and 7 inputs. Comparing to the literature, the proposed ANN model offers about 15% and 1.1% higher accuracy in Jc and stress estimations, respectively.

In this study, three artificial neural network (ANN) models are developed with back propagation (BP) optimization algorithms to predict various lightning damage modes in carbon/epoxy laminates. The proposed ANN models use three input variables associated with lightning waveform parameters (i.e., the peak current amplitude, rising time, and decaying time) to predict fiber damage, matrix damage, and through-thickness damage in the composites. The data used for training and testing the networks was actual lightning damage data collected from peer-reviewed published literature. Various BP training algorithms and network architecture configurations (i.e., data splitting, the number of neurons in a hidden layer, and the number of hidden layers) have been tested to improve the performance of the neural networks. Among the various BP algorithms considered, the Bayesian regularization back propagation (BRBP) showed the overall best performance in lightning damage prediction. When using the BRBP algorithm, as expected, the greater the fraction of the collected data that is allocated to the training dataset, the better the network is trained. In addition, the optimal ANN architecture was found to have a single hidden layer with 20 neurons. The ANN models proposed in this work may prove useful in preliminary assessments of lightning damage and reduce the number of expensive experimental lightning tests.

This study investigates the classification of sediment distribution and types in inland waters using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models based on multibeam echosounder data. Multibeam Echosounder Technology (MBES) is an acoustic instrument that emits high-speed sound pulses to map the bottom of water bodies. Valuable information about sediment characteristics can be obtained by analyzing the backscattering phenomenon, which measures the acoustic intensity reflected from the water bottom. The angular response curve (ARC) method, developed by Fonseca and Calder, is employed to analyze the relationship between backscatter intensity and the angle of reflection. The ANN models in this study are trained and tested using intensity values and angular response curves obtained from multibeam echo sounders. The ANN model architecture consists of an input layer, three hidden layers, and an output layer. The sigmoid activation function is utilized in the output layer, while the ReLU activation function is applied to the input and hidden layers. Performance evaluation demonstrates that the ANN model using uncorrected data achieves remarkable accuracy, with 100% accuracy obtained in both the training and testing stages. The model exhibits a training loss value of 0.059443 and a testing loss value of 0.110030, indicating its effectiveness in capturing patterns and reducing errors. Visualizing the sediment distribution in Waduk Selorejo reveals a relatively balanced presence of Clavey sand and Sandy silt sediment types. However, noticeable differences arise between the corrected and uncorrected data, which can be attributed to the alterations made during the data correction process. The best-performing ANN model achieves a testing accuracy of 0.75, indicating that it does not perfectly predict the given data. Acknowledging the potential for prediction errors when using corrected data is important.

Methane number (MN) is a critical gas quality parameter for gaseous-fueled engines. It is a measure of knock resistance for gaseous fuels, as is the octane number for gasoline. Therefore, a priori knowledge of the MN of gaseous fuel is important to avoid any structural damage to the engine due to knock. In the present study, a model was developed to predict the MN of gaseous fuels using an artificial neural network (ANN). The model utilized measured MNs of 1202 different gaseous fuel compositions, out of which 90% of the data (randomly) was used to train the ANN model using the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. In order to obtain the best performance, the number of neurons in the hidden layer and the transfer function of the hidden and output layers were changed. The ANN model incorporating hyperbolic tangent sigmoid function in the hidden layer with 53 neurons, and linear function in the output layer, showed the best performance – with mean square error and correlation coefficient of 0.055 and 1, respectively. The MNs of the remaining 10% of the data were determined using the ANN model, and were compared with those determined by the AVL (Anstalt für Verbrennungskraftmaschinen List) model. The model was able to predict MN accurately (R = 0.999).

Prediction of greenhouse tomato yield using artificial neural networks combined with sensitivity analysis

ABSTRACTThe performance of asphalt pavement is highly affected by climate factors, such as temperature and precipitation. Different temperature and moisture conditions change the paving material properties, which consequently influence pavement performance. Considerable research has been conducted to study the effect of climate factors on pavement performance; however, there are no focused studies that have investigated the performance of asphalt pavements in cold regions. In this research, the effect of different design factors on asphalt pavement performance in cold regions is investigated utilising data extracted from the Long-Term Pavement Performance database. Only control sections with no historical maintenance or rehabilitation records were considered. The International Roughness Index (IRI) was adopted as the pavement performance measure. The IRI value is expected to increase gradually over time due to pavement deterioration. Initial screening of the data showed that most of the pavement sections experienced remarkable IRI increase followed by an unexpected decrease. An in-depth investigation revealed that frost heave was the main reason of this unexpected IRI trend as it was correlated in most of the cases to sudden monthly freezing index increases, especially for sections with no subsurface drainage and less layers thicknesses. An Artificial Neural Network with a Forward Sequential Feature Selection algorithm and regression analysis were employed to model pavement performance in cold regions and determine the most significant design factors prevailing in cold climate conditions. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the interrelation between the considered features and the IRI. As a result, several climate-related factors were found to have a significant impact on the performance of asphalt pavements in cold regions such as average temperature, freezing index, freeze/thaw, wind velocity and relative humidity.

In this study, ground vibrations caused by blasting applications in a quarry were recorded and these values were evaluated and estimated by using an artificial neural network (ANN) model. Of the 28 vibration data measured, 20 were used for ANN training, 4 for validation and the remaining 4 for testing. In the model, peak particle velocity (PPV) was used as the output parameter, and the maximum explosive amount per delay and scaled distance were used as input parameters. In addition, MAPE, RMSE and R2 performance criteria were calculated from the realized, predicted by ANN and PPV values obtained from the field equation. The maximum amount of explosives used per delay and the sensitivity analysis of the scaled distance on the highest particle velocity were also determined. As a result, when the vibration data calculated from the field equation and estimated from the ANN model were compared with the realized vibration data, it was seen that the values obtained by the ANN model had a higher correlation.