GMDH-based prediction of shear strength of FRP-RC beams with and without stirrups

Abstract

In the present study, group method of data handling networks (GMDH) are adopted and evaluated for shear strength prediction of both FRP-reinforced concrete members with and without stirrups. Input parameters considered for the GMDH are altogether 12 influential geometrical and mechanical parameters. Two available and very recently collected comprehensive datasets containing 112 and 175 data samples are used to develop new models for two cases with and without shear reinforcement, respectively. The proposed GMDH models are compared with several codes of practice. An artificial neural network (ANN) model and an ANFIS based model are also developed using the same databases to further assessment of GMDH. The accuracy of the developed models is evaluated by statistical error parameters. The results show that the GMDH outperforms other models and successfully can be used as a practical and effective tool for shear strength prediction of members without stirrups (R2=0.94) and with stirrups (R2=0.95). Furthermore, the relative importance and influence of input parameters in the prediction of shear capacity of reinforced concrete members are evaluated through parametric and sensitivity analyses.