Predicting Compressive Strength of Sustainable Concrete Using Machine Learning and Artificial Neural Networks

The paper investigated the effect of locally sourced fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) on the compressive strength and chloride resistance of concrete. The mix proportion was cementitious material (total of ordinary Portland cement (OPC), fly ash and GGBS): sand: coarse aggregate: water of 1:2:3:0.6 in which 20% by mass of total cementitious materials was replaced by class F fly ash and GGBS. Compressive strength and rapid chloride penetration tests were conducted at 28, 56 and 120 days. The results shows that fly ash and GGBS reduce slightly the compressive strength but improve significantly the choloride resistance of concrete. Within the range of investigation, 10% of fly ash and 10% of GGBS are recommended to replace OPC as they improve the chloride resistance and maintain the compressive strength of concrete.

Performance of sustainable concretes containing very high volume Class-F fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag

Large-scale construction of marine structures in the coastal and offshore areas of Vietnam requires the development of new compositions of hydrotechnical concrete and innovative technologies for the preparation of concrete mixes, as well as their transportation to the place of placement. A preliminary composition of heavy concrete was determined and its properties were studied. The effect of the water-binder ratio (W/B) and the effect of using the developed complex organo-mineral modifying additive consisting of fly ash (FA) of Vung Ang TPP, microsilica SF-90 (SF90) and polycarboxylate superplasticizer SR 5000F (SP) on the concrete properties. To process the obtained results, the method of mathematical planning of the experiment with the construction of a four-factor plan was used. As a result of the studies conducted, first-order regression equations were obtained depending on the objective functions - the mobility of the concrete mixture on the cone sediment, the compressive strength of concrete and the deformations of concrete on input factors - x1 (W/B), x2 (amount of SP), x3 (amount of FA) and x4 (amount of SF90). From the obtained regression equations, it follows that the water-binder ratio, as well as the content of superplasticizer, fly ash and microsilica in the composition of the additive have a significant impact on the mobility of concrete mixtures. When reducing W/B and the amount of FA, as well as the increase in the amount of SF90 (x4) concrete compressive strength in 28 days also increases. The result of this study showed the relative deformation of concrete also increases with an increase in the content of FA and reducing W/B and the amount of SF90. At the same time, the effect of the water-binder relationship is most pronounced. It can be assumed that, in the composition of the developed modifying additive, the particles FA and SF90 played the role of a kind of “sliding bearings” between the grains of cement, with which you can control the dispersion of cement and finely dispersed mineral grains in the concrete mixture, and hence its mobility and persistence construction sites in the coastal areas of Vietnam. In addition, SF90, containing 91.65% of amorphous silica, binds free calcium hydroxide to less soluble low-basic calcium silicate silicates, compresses the structure of concrete and increases its compressive strength.

RETRACTED: The impact of GGBS and ferrous on the flow of electrical current and compressive strength of concrete

The building industry, which emits a significant quantity of greenhouse gases, is under tremendous pressure due to global climate change and its consequences for communities. Given the environmental issues associated with cement production, geopolymer concrete has emerged as a sustainable construction material. Geopolymer concrete is an eco-friendly construction material that uses industrial or agricultural by-product ashes as the principal binder instead of Portland cement. Fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, rice husk ash, metakaolin, and palm oil fuel ash were all employed as binders in geopolymer concrete, with fly ash being the most frequent. The most important engineering property for all types of concrete composites, including geopolymer concrete, is the compressive strength. It is influenced by different parameters such as the chemical composition of the binder materials, alkaline liquid to binder ratio, extra water content, superplasticizers dosages, binder content, fine and coarse aggregate content, sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate content, the ratio of sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide, the concentration of sodium hydroxide (molarity), curing temperature, curing durations inside oven, and specimen ages. In order to demonstrate the effects of these varied parameters on the compressive strength of the fly ash-based geopolymer concrete, a comprehensive dataset of 800 samples was gathered and analyzed. According to the findings, the curing temperature, sodium silicate content, and alkaline solution to binder ratio are the most significant independent parameters influencing the compressive strength of the fly ash-based geopolymer concrete (FA-BGPC) composites.

When released into the environment as solid waste, the by-product of coal called fly ash (FA) produced by coal-based electric power plants is detrimental. A further 8% to 10% of the worldwide anthropogenic emissions are produced by cement manufacturers. These issues may be resolved with high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete. HVFA concrete technology refers to employing fly ash instead of cement in the concrete mix to reduce the manufacturing of cement. But when the amount of fly ash in the concrete mix increases, the concrete’s compressive strength gradually decreases. The objective of this research is to determine the mechanical properties such as the compressive strength of HVFA concrete and compare it to the strength of the control concrete by adding Calcium Oxide (CaO) as an activator. Besides this, this research has another objective to reduce the use of cement in construction by replacing it with fly ash and making an environmentally friendly form of emission of CO2 while producing cement for the cement industry. In this research, different percentages of FA such as 20, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 percent are adopted replacing cement in concrete mixes with and without CaO. For this, cylindrical molds with dimensions of 100 mm × 200 mm were used for preparing concrete specimens. For each percentage of HVFA concrete mixtures, 3 (three) molds were cast without the activator and the same with the activator (2% of the binding material). A total of 117 concrete specimens were cast for the compressive strength test. These molds were cured using the water-curing technique. For determining mechanical properties, the compressive strength tests after 7, 28 and 56 days were conducted. Comparisons were made between the compressive strengths of HVFA concrete with and without the activator. These outcomes were contrasted with the compressive strength of the molds of conventional concrete. The early results for the compressive strength of HVFA concrete are extremely poor. The HVFA concrete’s 28-day compressive strength test results demonstrate a much higher compressive strength than the 7-day strength. However, the HVFA concret’s 56-day compressive strength test results were more satisfactory. According to this research, long-term water curing effectively boosts the compressive strength of HVFA concrete. Additionally, the use of CaO as an activator in HVFA concrete results in a minimum of 2 MPa higher compressive strength compared to HVFA concrete without the use of an activator. This result was therefore satisfactory for concrete with the activator content for up to 60% HVFA.

Development of waste-based concretes containing foundry sand, recycled fine aggregate, ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash

The effects of fly ash, Air Cooled Blast Furnace Slag (ACBFS), and silica fume on cement compressive strength are examined. The compressive strength of cement concrete is studied by the addition of fly ash, air-cooled blast furnace slag (ACBFS), and silica fume. The effect of fly ash, ACBFS, and silica fume on the compressive strength of concrete was investigated. The cement content of the concrete was reduced by 25%, 22.50%, 20%, and 17.50%, respectively; fly ash was used to replace 20%, 40%, and 60% of the coarse aggregate; and fly ash was partially replaced by 2.5%, 5%, and 7.50% of the cement content. Contrarily, fly ash was left out of the mixing process for M30. The compressive strength of concrete cubes and beams aged 7 and 28 days was tested.

This paper investigates the compressive strength properties of concrete with Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) and Fly Ash in concrete by partial replacement of cement. The incremental demand of cement in the construction field is a concern for environmental degradation, in this regard; replacement of cement is carried out with waste materials by using GGBS and Fly Ash. On optimum level of GGBS and Fly Ash was assessed with varied percentage from 0 to 30% for different curing days. Replaced concrete were tested with the slump, compaction factor, Vee-bee and compressive strength. Cement to water ratio was maintained at 0.47 for all mixes. The compressive strength tests were conducted for 3, 7, 14 and 28 days of curing on a M25 grade concrete. The results obtained from the slump, compaction factor, Vee-bee and compressive strength of concrete containing GGBS and Fly Ash was increased as the curing time increases. The workability of replaced concrete improved when slump value achieved 30% as compared to controlled one SF0 and the compressive strength obtained 26.30% improvement at SF9 as compared to SF0. The outcomes indicated that the addition of GGBS and Fly Ash enhances the workability and compressive strength which eventually improved the mechanical properties of concrete.

Construction activities require concrete as a widely used material. Concrete consists of several compositions, namely fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, water, and Portland cement as the main material for the binder. Cement production contributes around 6% of carbon emissions which can damage the environment, including global warming, and the use of high levels of cement material in concrete mixtures, so alternative materials are needed to replace cement or cement additives for concrete mixes. Alternative materials used in this research are fly ash and silica fume. This research aims to determine the test results and characteristics of concrete using silica fume and fly ash as partial cement substitute materials as well as the effect of the ratio of silica fume and fly ash on the compressive strength of concrete. The research was carried out by direct testing in the laboratory. The various mixtures of Fly Ash (FA) and Silica Fume used are: FA 10% and SF 5%, FA 15% and SF 5%, FA 20% and SF 20%, FA 25% and SF 10%. Based on the results of compressive strength tests carried out at 28 days of concrete, it shows that the use of silica fume and fly ash to replace cement cannot be said to have succeeded in increasing the strength of the concrete. The highest compressive strength value was achieved by variation 3, namely with a fly ash content of 20% and 10% silica fume, producing a compressive strength value of 19.44 Mpa, this shows that the strength achieved is still limited to low quality concrete below 20 Mpa.

Waste marble, an industrial byproduct generated from marble cutting and polishing processes, can be effectively utilized as a partial replacement in concrete mixtures. Incorporating waste marble in concrete not only addresses environmental concerns related to marble waste disposal but also contributes to the sustainability of construction materials. Using machine learning (ML) to predict the impact of waste marble on the compressive strength of traditional concrete offers several advantages over repeated laboratory experiments. ML offers a powerful alternative to costly and time-consuming laboratory experiments, enabling faster and more sustainable exploration of the potential of waste marble in improving concrete’s compressive strength. This research has focused on evaluating the impact of waste marble on the compressive strength of traditional concrete using machine learning (ML). Advanced ML techniques such as the Group Methods Data Handling Neural Network (GMDH-NN), Support Vector Regression (SVR), K-Nearest Neighbors (kNN) and Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost) have been applied in this research work. The GMDH-NN model was created using GMDH Shell 3.0 software, while AdaBoost, SVR and kNN models were created using “Orange Data Mining” software version 3.36. Error indices such as the sum of squared error (SSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), and Error (%), and performance metrics such as Accuracy % and the R2 between predicted and calculated compressive strength parameters were used to evaluate the overall behavior of the models. Finally, the Hoffman sensitivity analysis procedure was applied to determine the individual relative impact of the input variables on the output. At the end of the processes, a total of 1135 waste marble concrete entries were collected containing constituents such as the cement density (C), waste marble (WM), fine aggregate (FAg), coarse aggregate (CAg), water (W), superplasticizer (PL) and curing age (Age) used as input variables of the waste marble concrete model. The records were divided into training set (900 records = 80%) and validation set (235 records = 20%) following standard partitioning pattern reported in the literature. The kNN and AdaBoost, with SSE of 1408.5 MPa2 and 1397 MPa2 respectively and a tie Accuracy of 95.5% and R2 of 0.985 showed the best models suggesting excellent model performance while GMDH-NN showed the worst. Conversely, RF balances accuracy and model complexity, making it a practical alternative to kNN and AdaBoost. And lastly, Age, Coarse Aggregates, Water, and Plasticizer play the most significant roles in determining the compressive strength, while Cement, Waste Marble, and Fine Aggregates have comparatively smaller impacts. However, considering the standard proportion required for waste marble powder to replace cement, it showed a remarkable influence on the behavior of the concrete thus a recommended potential for its used as replacement for cement.

In the design of new structures, EN 1992‐1‐1 normatively regulates the correlation between the compressive strength and tensile strength of concrete, in accordance with EN 206‐1. However, as there are many time‐ and load‐dependent impacts on existing structures, the relationship described by EN 1992‐1‐1 cannot be assumed without any further observations for existing structures. At the moment, there is no comprehensive investigation on the influences of, for example, subsequent hardening and carbonation on the concrete compressive or tensile strength. The tensile strength of concrete defined in EN 1992‐1‐1 is based on a water storage and a testing age of 28 days. Furthermore, the in‐situ tensile strength is affected by micro‐crack formation cause of internal stresses due to outflow of hydration heat, for example. Generally, there is a different influence of micro‐crack formation on the tensile strength of concrete than on the compressive strength of concrete. The actual value of the in‐situ tensile strength of concrete affects the shear force resistance and the load‐bearing capacity of anchors with concrete cone failure as decisive failure mode. Within the framework of a research project (SWD‐10.08.18.7‐13.01), financed by “Forschungsinitiative Zukunft Bau”, an initiative of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBR) structural investigations on the correlation between the compressive and tensile strength of old concretes have been performed. Below, the results of the research project are presented.

This study aims to utilize fly ash and waste PET bottles for producing more sustainable self-compacting concrete (SCC) with better mechanical strength. Fly ash is utilized as a supplementary cement material and waste PET bottles as fiber reinforcement to improve its flexural strength and achieve the targeted compressive strength. The experimental works were conducted on eight variations using 80 specimens, divided into two main groups of partial cement replacement using 0% and 15% fly ash by weight. The two variants are added with PET fiber based on the volume fractions of 0%, 0.25%, 0.50%, and 0.75%. Fresh concrete was tested using the slump flow method (T50) and the Visual Stability Index (VSI) based on ASTM 1611. The hardened concrete tests are conducted after 56 days and include testing the concrete's compressive strength, flexural strength, and ultrasonic pulse velocity. Test results showed that the presence of PET fiber in the SCC mix decreased its flowability. However, when added up to 0.75%, the mixes still meet the flowability requirements of fresh-state SCC. PET fiber addition tends to reduce the compressive strength, whereas the reduction in compressive strength of SCC with PET fiber without fly ash is insignificant. However, in SCC that uses fly ash, the addition of PET fiber causes a significant decrease in its compressive strength. Adding PET fiber into SCC mixes can increase flexural strength, both for the two variants: SCC without fly ash and SCC with fly ash. It can be concluded that PET waste fiber with an aspect ratio of 40 can be added up to 0.5% for SCC without fly ash and up to 0.25% by volume fraction for SCC with fly ash addition. The ultrasonic pulse velocity test results have an excellent tendency to predict the concrete's compressive and flexural strengths. Therefore, the UPV test can be applied for the non-destructive test evaluation of PET fiber-reinforced SCC. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-02-014 Full Text: PDF

[ID] Concrete is a very popular building material used in the world of construction services, consisting of a mixture of Portland Cement (PC) or other hydraulic cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregates and water, with or without using additional materials. The quality of materials such as cement also greatly affects the strength of the concrete after hardening, so the selection of cement quality must be in accordance with the concrete planning regulations in order to obtain optimal results. In Indonesia there are many new cement factories that produce to meet the needs of the community, one of which is the Conch brand cement. So in connection with the above, Conch cement can be examined to compare the value of compressive strength and flexural strength with old cement, namely cement Padang, Tiga Roda, Holcim and Bosowa which are generally always used in concrete planning at this time.The purpose of this study was to determine the comparison of compressive strength and flexural strength of the concrete and the multiplier between cement Padang, Three Wheels and Conch at 28 days of age. In this study using the method SNI 03-2834-2000. With cylindrical test specimens (150 mm x 300 mm) and size beams (150 mm x 150 mm x 600 mm) three specimens were made for each cement.The maximum concrete compressive strength is found in Padang cement with a compressive strength of 45.86 Mpa, for the minimum compressive strength found in Tiga Roda cement with compressive strength value of 40.19 Mpa and for the compressive strength of cement Conch there is a second with compressive strength value 42.84 Mpa. From the explanation above, the results of 28 days of concrete compressive strength with each cement brand still not reached the planned concrete compressive strength of 38 MPa. The maximum concrete flexural strength is found in Padang cement with a flexural strength value of 5.03 Mpa, for a minimum flexural strength value found in Tiga Roda cement with a flexural strength value of 3.96 Mpa and for the value of Conch cement compressive strength there is a second with flexural strength 4.43 Mpa. From the explanation above, the results of 28 days of concrete flexural strength with each cement brand that has not reached the 4.4 Mpa plan, namely the three-wheeled cement brand.
 [EN] Concrete is a very popular building material used in the world of construction services, consisting of a mixture of Portland Cement (PC) or other hydraulic cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregates and water, with or without using additional materials. The quality of materials such as cement also greatly affects the strength of the concrete after hardening, so the selection of cement quality must be in accordance with the concrete planning regulations in order to obtain optimal results. In Indonesia there are many new cement factories that produce to meet the needs of the community, one of which is the Conch brand cement. So in connection with the above, Conch cement can be examined to compare the value of compressive strength and flexural strength with old cement, namely cement Padang, Tiga Roda, Holcim and Bosowa which are generally always used in concrete planning at this time.The purpose of this study was to determine the comparison of compressive strength and flexural strength of the concrete and the multiplier between cement Padang, Three Wheels and Conch at 28 days of age. In this study using the method SNI 03-2834-2000. With cylindrical test specimens (150 mm x 300 mm) and size beams (150 mm x 150 mm x 600 mm) three specimens were made for each cement.The maximum concrete compressive strength is found in Padang cement with a compressive strength of 45.86 Mpa, for the minimum compressive strength found in Tiga Roda cement with compressive strength value of 40.19 Mpa and for the compressive strength of cement Conch there is a second with compressive strength value 42.84 Mpa. From the explanation above, the results of 28 days of concrete compressive strength with each cement brand still not reached the planned concrete compressive strength of 38 MPa. The maximum concrete flexural strength is found in Padang cement with a flexural strength value of 5.03 Mpa, for a minimum flexural strength value found in Tiga Roda cement with a flexural strength value of 3.96 Mpa and for the value of Conch cement compressive strength there is a second with flexural strength 4.43 Mpa. From the explanation above, the results of 28 days of concrete flexural strength with each cement brand that has not reached the 4.4 Mpa plan, namely the three-wheeled cement brand.

The efficacy of two machine learning algorithms to predict the concrete compressive strength is investigated in this research. For this objective, a vast amount of experimental data from numerous academic research articles was statically evaluated and modelled. In all, 265 observations were considered in this investigation 70% of the data was used for training, while the remaining 30% was used for testing. The data used in this paper was divided randomly. Cement, ground granulated blast furnace slag, limestone powder, fly ash, rice husk ash, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, silica fume, superplasticizer, water, viscosity modifying admixture, and coarse aggregate were among the 11 input parameters employed in the study. The concrete compressive strength was taken as the output parameter of the model. To assess the models’ prediction abilities, correlation coefficient (CC), the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) values were employed. From the results it was concluded that RF-based model outperforms the M5P Model. The CC, RMSE and MAE values for RF are 0.9867, 3.7887 and 2.9244 for training and 0.8668, 9.1723 and 5.8552 for testing stage respectively.