Prediction of lightweight concrete strength by categorized regression, MLR and ANN

S. Tavakkol,F. Alapour,A. Kazemian,A. Hasaninejad,A. Ghanbari,A.A. Ramezanianpour 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2013 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.12 No.2

Prediction of concrete properties is an important issue for structural engineers and different methods are developed for this purpose. Most of these methods are based on experimental data and use measured data for parameter estimation. Three typical methods of output estimation are Categorized Linear Regression (CLR), Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). In this paper a statistical cleansing method based on CLR is introduced. Afterwards, MLR and ANN approaches are also employed to predict the compressive strength of structural lightweight aggregate concrete. The valid input domain is briefly discussed. Finally the results of three prediction methods are compared to determine the most efficient method. The results indicate that despite higher accuracy of ANN, there are some limitations for the method. These limitations include high sensitivity of method to its valid input domain and selection criteria for determining the most efficient network.

Effect of Entrained Air Voids on Salt Scaling Resistance of Concrete Containing a New Composite Cement

A.A. Ramezanianpour,M. Jafari Nadooshan,M. Peydayesh,A. M. Ramezanianpour 대한토목학회 2014 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.18 No.1

Salt scaling is a major damage problem for concrete pavements in cold environments. Salt scaling is a type of superficial damage caused by freezing and thawing a saline solution on the surface of concrete. Effects of a new composite Portland cement and air void on deicer scaling resistance of concrete were investigated in this paper. Another objective is to investigate effects of compressive strength, tensile strength, abrasion resistance and water penetration on the freeze-thaw deicer salt scaling. Specimens were tested for freeze-thaw deicer salt scaling resistance in accordance with ASTM C672 test method. Surface strengths of concrete play an important role in salt scaling resistance. There is no appropriate relationship between compressive strength and salt scaling resistance,when concrete mixtures are made with various cementitious materials. Results reveal that the mixture containing composite Portland cement with entrained air bubbles has the best performance in salt scaling test.

Mechanical properties and durability of self consolidating cementitious materials incorporating nano silica and silica fume

Ali Akbar Ramezanianpour,Mahdi Mahdikhani 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2014 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.14 No.2

In recent years, the emergence of nanotechnology and nanomaterial has created hopes to improve various properties of concrete. Nano silica as one of these materials has been introduced as a cement replacement material for concrete mixture in construction applications. It can modify the properties of concrete, due to high pozzolanic reactions and also making a denser microstructure. On the other hand, it is well recognized that the use of mineral admixtures such as silica fume affects the mechanical properties and durability of cementitious materials. In addition, the superior performance of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and self-consolidating mortars (SCM) over conventional concrete is generally related to their ingredients. This study investigates the effect of nano silica and silica fume on the compressive strength and chloride permeability of self-consolidating mortars. Tests include compressive strength, rapid chloride permeability test, water permeability, capillary water absorption, and surface electrical resistance, which carried out on twenty mortar mixtures containing zero to 6 percent of nano silica and silica fume. Results show that SCMs incorporating nano silica had higher compressive strength at various ages. In addition, results show that nano silica has enhanced the durability SCMs and reduced the chloride permeability.

Influence of Iranian low-reactivity GGBFS on the properties of mortars and concretes by Taguchi method

A.A. Ramezanianpour,A. Kazemian,E. Radaei,H. AzariJafari,M.A. Moghaddam 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2014 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.13 No.4

Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) is widely used as an effective partial cement replacement material. GGBFS inclusion has already been proven to improve several performance characteristics of concrete. GGBFS provides enhanced durability, including high resistance to chloride penetration and protection against alkali silica reaction. In this paper results of an experimental research work on influence of low-reactivity GGBFS (which is largely available in Iran) on the properties of mortars and concretes are reported. In the first stage, influence of GGBFS replacement level and fineness on the compressive strength of mortars was investigated using Taguchi method. The analysis of mean (ANOM) statistical approach was also adopted to develop the optimal conditions. Next, based on the obtained results, concrete mixtures were designed and water penetration, capillary absorption, surface resistivity, and compressive strength tests were carried out on high-strength concrete specimens at different ages up to 90 days. The results indicated that 7-day compressive strength is adversely affected by GGBFS inclusion, while the negative effect is less evident at later ages. Also, it was inferred that use of low-reactivity GGBFS (at moderate levels such as 20% and 30%) can enhance the impermeability of high-strength concrete since 28 days age.

An investigation on the mortars containing blended cement subjected to elevated temperatures using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models

A.A. Ramezanianpour,M.E. Kamel,E. Ghiasvand,H. Shokrani,N. Bakhshi,A. Kazemian 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2012 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.10 No.6

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the compressive strength and weight loss of mortars containing three types of fillers as cement replacements; Limestone Filler (LF), Silica Fume (SF) and Trass (TR), subjected to elevated temperatures including 400oC, 600oC, 800oC and 1000oC. Results indicate that addition of TR to blended cements, compared to SF addition, leads to higher compressive strength and lower weight loss at elevated temperatures. In order to model the influence of the different parameters on the compressive strength and the weight loss of specimens, artificial neural networks (ANNs) were adopted. Different diagrams were plotted based on the predictions of the most accurate networks to study the effects of temperature, different fillers and cement content on the target properties. In addition to the impressive RMSE and R2 values of the best networks, the data used as the input for the prediction plots were chosen within the range of the data introduced to the networks in the training phase. Therefore, the prediction plots could be considered reliable to perform the parametric study.

A fuzzy expert system for diagnosis assessment of reinforced concrete bridge decks

Ali Akbar Ramezanianpour,Vahid Shahhosseini,Faramarz Moodi 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2009 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.6 No.4

The lack of safety of bridge deck structures causes frequent repair and strengthening of such structures. The repair induces great loss of economy, not only due to direct cost by repair, but also due to stopping the public use of such structures during repair. The major reason for this frequent repair is mainly due to the lack of realistic and accurate assessment system for the bridge decks. The purpose of the present research was to develop a realistic expert system, called Bridge Slab-Expert which can evaluate reasonably the condition as well as the service life of concrete bridge decks, based on the deterioration models that are derived from both the structural and environmental effects. The diagnosis assessment of deck slabs due to structural and environmental effects are developed based on the cracking in concrete, surface distress and structural distress. Fuzzy logic is utilized to handle uncertainties and imprecision involved. Finally, Bridge Slab-Expert is developed for prediction of safety and remaining service life based on the chloride ions penetration and fick’s second law. Proposed expert system is based on user-friendly GUI environment. The developed expert system will allow the correct diagnosis of concrete decks, realistic prediction of service life, the determination of confidence level, the description of condition and the proposed action for repair.

Optimizing the mix design of pervious concrete based on properties and unit cost

Taheri, Bahram M.,Ramezanianpour, Amir M. Techno-Press 2021 Advances in concrete construction Vol.11 No.4

This study focused on experimental evaluation of mechanical properties of pervious concrete mixtures with the aim of achieving higher values of strength while considering the associated costs. The effectiveness of key parameters, including cement content, water to cement ratio (W/C), aggregate to cement ratio (A/C), and sand replacement was statistically analyzed using paired-samples t-test, Taguchi method and one-way ANOVA. Taguchi analysis determined that in general, the role of W/C was more significant in increasing strength, both compressive and flexural, than cement content and A/C. It was found that increase in replacing percent of coarse aggregate with sand could undermine specimens to percolate water, though one-way ANOVA analysis determined statistically significant increases in values of strength of mixtures. Cost analysis revealed that higher strengths did not necessarily correspond to higher costs; in addition, increasing the cement content was not an appropriate scenario to optimize both strength and cost. In order to obtain the optimal values, response surface method (RSM) was carried out. RSM optimization helped to find out that W/C of 0.40, A/C of 4.0, cement content of about 330 kg/m3 and replacing about 12% of coarse aggregate with sand could result in the best values for strength and cost while maintaining adequate permeability.

Experimental study on durability of strengthened corroded RC columns with FRP sheets in tidal zone of marine environment

Amin Kashi,Ali Akbar Ramezanianpour,Faramarz Moodi 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2017 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.19 No.4

The main objective of this paper was to illuminate the effect of marine environmental condition on durability of reinforced concrete (RC)-corroded columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) layers. Small-scale columns were prepared and corroded by an accelerated corrosion process. After strengthening, compressive strength tests were carried out on control and weathered specimens. In this research, a marine simulator was designed and constructed similar to the tidal zone of marine environment in south of Iran which was selected as a case study in this research. Mechanical properties of wrapped specimens were studied after placing them inside the simulator for 3000 hours. Marine environment decreased ultimate strength by 4.5% and 26.3% in CFRP and GFRP-wrapped columns, respectively. In some corroded-columns, strengthening was carried out after replacing damaged cover by self-compacted mortar. In this method, by confining with one layer of CFRP and GFRP, 4.2% and 22.4% reduction in ultimate strength was observed, respectively, after exposure. Furthermore, the elastic-brittle behavior has been verified in this retrofit method. Also results of tension tests revealed, the ultimate tensile strength was degraded by 2% and 28.8% in CFRP and GFRP sheets, respectively, after applying marine exposure.

Assessment of some parameters of corrosion initiation prediction of reinforced concrete in marine environments

Faramarz Moodi,Aliakbar Ramezanianpour,Ehsan Jahangiri 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2014 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.13 No.1

Chloride ion ingress is one of the major problems that affect the durability of concrete structures such as bridge decks, concrete pavements, and other structures exposed to harsh saline environments. Therefore, durability based design of concrete structures in severe condition has gained great significance in recent decades and various mathematical models for estimating the service life of rein-forced concrete have been proposed. In spite of comprehensive researches on the corrosion of rein-forced concrete, there are still various controversial concepts in quantitation of durability parameters such as chloride diffusion coefficient and surface chloride content. Effect of environment conditions on the durability of concrete structures is one of the most important issues. Hence, regional investigations are necessary for durability based design and evaluation of the models. Persian Gulf is one of the most aggressive regions of the world because of elevated temperature and humidity as well as high content of chloride ions in seawater. The aim of this study is evaluation of some parameters of durability of RC structures in marine environment from viewpoint of corrosion initiation. For this purpose, some experiments were carried out on the real RC structures and in laboratory. The result showed that various uncertainties in parameters of durability were existed.

Modified electrical conductivity test method for evaluation concrete permeability

Amirreza Pilvar,Ali Akbar Ramezanianpour,Hosein Rajaie 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2015 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.16 No.6

Standard test method for bulk electrical conductivity (ASTM C1760) provides a rapid indication of the concrete’s resistance to the penetration of chloride ions by diffusion. In this paper a new approach for assessing the bulk electrical conductivity of saturated specimens of hardened concrete is presented. The test involves saturating concrete specimens with a 5 M NaCl solution before measuring the conductivity of the samples. By saturating specimens with a highly conductive solution, they showed virtually the same pore solution conductivity. Different concrete samples yield different conductivity primarily due to differences in their pore structure. The feasibility of the method has been demonstrated by testing different concrete mixtures consisting ordinary and blended cement of silica fume (SF) and calcined perlite powder (CPP). Two standard test methods of RCPT (ASTM C1202) and Bulk Conductivity (ASTM C1760) were also applied to all of the samples. The results show that for concretes containing SF and CPP, the proposed method is less sensitive towards the variations in the pore solution conductivity in comparison with RCPT and Bulk Conductivity tests. It seems that this method is suitable for the assessment of the performance and durability of different concretes containing supplementary cementitious materials.