Applying Artificial Intelligence to Improve On-Site Non-Destructive Concrete Compressive Strength Tests

Abstract

In the construction industry, non–destructive testing (NDT) methods are often used in the field to inspect the compressive strength of concrete. NDT methods do not cause damage to the existing structure and are relatively economical. Two popular NDT methods are the rebound hammer (RH) test and the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test. One major drawback of the RH test and UPV test is that the concrete compressive strength estimations are not very accurate when comparing them to the results obtained from the destructive tests. To improve concrete strength estimation, the researchers applied artificial intelligence prediction models to explore the relationships between the input values (results from the two NDT tests) and the output values (concrete strength). In-situ NDT data from a total of 98 samples were collected in collaboration with a material testing laboratory and the Professional Civil Engineer Association. In-situ NDT data were used to develop and validate the prediction models (both traditional statistical models and AI models). The analysis results showed that AI prediction models provide more accurate estimations when compared to statistical regression models. The research results show significant improvement when AI techniques (ANNs, SVM and ANFIS) are applied to estimate concrete compressive strength in RH and UPV tests.

Prediction of Mechanical Properties of Highly Functional Lightweight Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Based on Deep Neural Network and Ensemble Regression Trees Methods

“…However, in the global space of scientific research and in practice, there is a deficit, expressed in a certain conservatism of the construction industry and the slow pace of the introduction of artificial intelligence methods and other innovative methods in this industry [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”

“…The modern construction industry, and in particular the production of complex composite materials such as concrete, is facing a serious problem that often affects the quality of buildings and structures being built, leads to an increased number of accidents in construction and, in general, significantly reduces the life cycle of buildings and structures [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. All of this requires innovative approaches, not only at all stages of the life cycle of buildings and structures but also at the stage of concrete production itself, that is, even at the stage of construction industry enterprises [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

“…The modern construction industry, and in particular the production of complex composite materials such as concrete, is facing a serious problem that often affects the quality of buildings and structures being built, leads to an increased number of accidents in construction and, in general, significantly reduces the life cycle of buildings and structures [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. All of this requires innovative approaches, not only at all stages of the life cycle of buildings and structures but also at the stage of concrete production itself, that is, even at the stage of construction industry enterprises [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. The problems, in turn, arising in the enterprises of the construction industry are expressed in manufacturing defects and the imperfection of prescription and technological factors that affect the quality of the resulting concrete, as well as in factors such as the influence of the human factor, errors in the selection of compositions, the production of concrete, and their assessment in terms of the ratio of initial parameters and output parameters.…”

Influence of Fire Exposition of Fibre-Cement Boards on Their Microstructure

“…The degraded sample analysed in this paper was also subjected to tests using sound emission; the sample’s visual assessment was presented in papers by Ngo [ 11 ] and Szymków [ 17 ], demonstrating its structural destruction.…”

“…The authors, having read the scientific literature, decided to use a non-destructive method for the diagnostics of fibre-cement boards—analysis using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The use of such a method results from the studies of other researchers who studied similar phenomena, such as Schabowicz [ 9 ], Verma [ 10 ] and Ngo [ 11 ].…”