Back analysis of model parameters in geotechnical engineering by means of soft computing

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, a parameter identification (PI) method for determination of unknown model parameters in geotechnical engineering is proposed. It is based on measurement data provided by the construction site. Model parameters for finite element (FE) analyses are identified such that the results of these calculations agree with the available measurement data as well as possible. For determination of the unknown model parameters, use of an artificial neural network (ANN) is proposed. The network is trained to approximate the results of FE simulations. A genetic algorithm (GA) uses the trained ANN to provide an estimate of optimal model parameters which, finally, has to be assessed by an additional FE analysis. The presented mode of PI renders back analysis of model parameters feasible even for large‐scale models as used in geotechnical engineering. The advantages of theoretical developments concerning both the structure and the training of the ANN are illustrated by the identification of material properties from experimental data. Finally, the performance of the proposed PI method is demonstrated by two problems taken from geotechnical engineering. The impact of back analysis on the actual construction process is outlined. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.