Analytical and genetic programming model of compressive strength of eco concretes by NDT according to curing temperature

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.03.123Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Estimation of compressive strength with non-destructive testing on concretes and eco-concretes.

  • New analytical estimation models considering the curing temperature and other factors.

  • Comparison of previous models with proposed models.

  • Improved models using oriented genetic programming.

  • A proposed model with a safety improvement.

Abstract

The use of non-destructive testing for estimating the compressive strength of concrete has great advantages both short term and long term. In the case of eco-concrete with recycled materials, it is of particular interest, since its use in many regulations is conditional on further studies. In this research we analyze the applicability of the most common models for estimating compressive strength by combining nondestructive testing. Specifically it was applied to 11 concrete with cement CEM-I, 3 self-compacting concrete and 8 vibrated concrete. There are two reference concretes (one of each) and the rest of concretes either have changed water/cement ratio or they contain different percentages of recycled materials (recycled aggregate fine and coarse together, or biomass ashes). Destructive tests have been made (compressive strength) and non-destructive (ultrasonic pulse velocity and compressive strength) in all concretes, at different ages and different curing temperatures, obtaining a total of 181 data sets. New estimation models were proposed for compressive strength with factors such as the curing temperature, the temperature history, the density of the concrete and the quantity of additive. These models substantially improve the results obtained with the usual methods. Finally, using genetic programming, it has managed to obtain an equation that allows, safely, estimating compressive strength with the information of non-destructive testing. The equation obtained improves current predictions with the peculiarity that minimizes uncertain results.

Introduction

Obtaining a good estimation of the compressive strength using non-destructive testing, has both long-term and short-term benefits. In the short term (during construction), it can allow an adjustment of the work deadlines, and at the same time, improve structural safety. In the long term (service, upgrading, modification and/or extension) it is of great importance, since it can predict the strength of concrete without having to take cores and consequently deteriorate concrete structures.

In the case of eco-concrete with recycled fine aggregate, recycled coarse aggregate (for percentages higher than 20%) or biomass ashes, getting greater insight and control over the compressive strength is of particular interest, since its use for the manufacture of structural concrete is either prohibited or conditioned to the development of complementary studies in multiple regulations [1], [2], [3], [4].

The influence of curing temperature on the correlations between ultrasonic pulse velocity and compressive strength was observed in a previous study [5], concluding that the curing temperature is a critical factor when estimating the compressive strength through its correlation with ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), noting that for a same velocity, the lower the curing temperature is, the lower the corresponding strength. There are some previous studies [6], [7], [8] in which some influence of temperature on this correlation was observed. As can be seen in Table 1, in the usual estimation models combining non-destructive testing, curing temperature or historic internal temperatures are not usually considered as possible factors influencing the correlation between non-destructive tests and compressive strength.

Models which are more frequently used in this correlation are linear and exponential [9], [10], [11], although some authors consider other possibilities such as the potential or parabolic [9], [12], [13].

Huang et al. [14] develop a study comparing the results of 11 models, some of them collected in Table 1. They get the best fit with the most complex model they used, in which the input data are ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), age (t), the correlation water/cement (WC) and the rebound number (R). With this model a fit is obtained with an R2 of 0.89.

Martínez-Molina [15] performed a comparative study of 10 models. Eight of these models use UPV, R, WC and t. Other models proposed also use the resonant frequency and the electrical resistivity, but the results do not improve significantly with respect to the formulation of Huang (who does not use resonant frequency or electrical resistivity).

Some investigations study the possibility of finding a better prediction of the compressive strength by using ultrasonic pulse velocity or by combining several non-destructive tests, using artificial neural networks [16], [17], and they suggest that promising results and improving the accuracy of estimations can be obtained, however, an estimation equation including some important factors that can be applied easily in practice is not proposed. In a recent study, Ayaz et al. [18] using the M5 rule and M5P Tree proposes an equation for estimating the compressive strength using the ultrasonic pulse velocity modified, depending on the amount of cement, the amount of fly ash, amount of slag and the curing period. 10 different mixes are studied in which the amount of cement, fly ashes and slag are different. Data for each mix at 4 ages (3, 7, 28 and 120 days) is obtained. Therefore, the results of a total of 40 tests are used. Good estimation results are obtained, although it is necessary to note that in this investigation decisive factors on correlations such as the curing temperature [5], [8] or the density of the resulting concrete among others are not considered. Other techniques used for estimating the mechanical properties of concrete and eco-concrete are, for example, the genetic programming, model tree and artificial neural network. As a result of using these techniques, significant improvements in the performance of predictive models can be obtained [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26]. Therefore, one of the goals of this research is the analytical development and proposal of new models to estimate compressive strength, by combining non-destructive testing, considering the curing temperature, the history of internal temperatures and maturity of concrete. Other factors that can influence the correlations between non-destructive testing will be considered, especially in the case of eco-concrete, such as the density of the concrete (very important in the case of concrete with recycled aggregate) or the percentage of cement replacing biomass ashes. In addition, it aims to develop an equation for estimating the compressive strength on the safe side for conventional concrete and eco-concrete, for this purpose, analytical results are considered and the oriented genetic programming technique is used in which overestimation will be very sharply penalized.

Section snippets

Materials

A total of 11 concretes are studied: 3 self-compacting concrete (SCC) and 8 vibrated concrete (VC). For each group, one reference concrete was set without recycled materials. The main intention was that these concretes were as different as possible in order to have diverse concretes. So, the following parameters were varied: type of concrete, quantity of cement, correlation water/cement, aggregate, maximum aggregate size, percentage of substitution of recycled aggregate and quantity of ashes.

Results and analysis

To avoid repetition of the legend on each of the Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 4 legend is applicable to all figures comparing the estimation of the compressive strength with its real value. In addition to all the graphs of Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9, the error of ±10% and ±20% is indicated.

Conclusions

It concludes that the proposed models substantially improve estimates compared to the reference ones. To estimate the compressive strength by combining non-destructive testing, it is important to note the curing temperature, age, the modified cement water ratio (Eq. (3)) and density.

Estimations with temperature-time factor between the reference temperature (FTT/Tr) have a similar accuracy to those with the equivalent age at which the energy activation is needed. Therefore the use of MN6 and MN10

Acknowledgment

M.V-L., I.M-L and P. V-B. were partially supported by he projects of Program FEDER-INNTERCONECTA ITC-20133075 “Use of paper and tire industry wastes other than their use in building lightweight technological embankments and other construction materials” and ITC-20113055 “Development of value adding technologies for RCDs for innovative applications”, convened by the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI, for its initials in Spanish), dependent on the Ministry of Economy and

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