Strength and strain modeling of CFRP -confined concrete cylinders using ANNs

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) has extensive use in strengthening reinforced concrete structures due to its high strength and elastic modulus, low weight, fast and easy application, and excellent durability performance. Many studies have been carried out to determine the performance of the CFRP confined concrete cylinder. Although studies about the prediction of confined compressive strength using ANN are in the literature, the insufficiency of the studies to predict the strain of confined concrete cylinder using ANN, which is the most appropriate analysis method for nonlinear and complex problems, draws attention. Therefore, to predict both strengths and also strain values, two different ANNs were created using an extensive experimental database. The strength and strain networks were evaluated with the statistical parameters of correlation coefficients (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE). The estimated values were found to be close to the experimental results. Mathematical equations to predict the strength and strain values were derived using networks prepared for convenience in engineering applications. The sensitivity analysis of mathematical models was performed by considering the inputs with the highest importance factors. Considering the limit values obtained from the sensitivity analysis of the parameters, the performances of the proposed models were evaluated by using the test data determined from the experimental database. Model performances were evaluated comparatively with other analytical models most commonly used in the literature, and it was found that the closest results to experimental data were obtained from the proposed strength and strain models.

Automated summary

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is commonly used to strengthen reinforced concrete structures due to its high strength and elastic modulus, low weight, and excellent durability. In this study, two different artificial neural networks (ANNs) were created to predict both strengths and strain values of CFRP confined concrete cylinder. The estimated values were found to be close to the experimental results, and sensitivity analysis of the mathematical models was performed to evaluate the proposed models, which showed closest results to the experimental data compared to other analytical models.