Optimum Concrete Mixture Proportion Based on a Database Considering Regional Characteristics

This paper presents an enhanced design methodology for optimal mixture proportion of concrete composition with respect to accuracy in the case of using prediction models based on a limited database. In proposed methodology, the search space is constrained as the domain defined by a limited database instead of constructing the database covering the region represented by the possible ranges of all variables in the input space. A model for defining the search space which is expressed by the effective region in this paper and evaluating whether a mix proportion is effective is added to the optimization process, yielding highly reliable results. To demonstrate the proposed methodology, a genetic algorithm, an artificial neural network, and a convex hull were adopted as an optimum technique, a prediction model for material properties, and an evaluation model for the effective region, respectively. And then, it was applied to an optimization problem wherein the minimum cost should be obtained under a given strength requirement. Experimental test results show that the mix proportion obtained from the proposed methodology considering the regional characteristics of the database is found to be more accurate and feasible than that obtained from a general optimum technique that does not consider this aspect.