Parameters inversion of high central core rockfill dams based on a novel genetic algorithm

Abstract

Parameters identification of rockfill materials is a crucial issue for high rockfill dams. Because of the scale effect, random sampling and sample disturbance, it is difficult to obtain the actual mechanical properties of rockfill from laboratory tests. Parameters inversion based on in situ monitoring data has been proven to be an efficient method for identifying the exact parameters of the rockfill. In this paper, we propose a modified genetic algorithm to solve the high-dimension multimodal and nonlinear optimal parameters inversion problem. A novel crossover operator based on the sum of differences in gene fragments (SoDX) is proposed, inspired by the cloning of superior genes in genetic engineering. The crossover points are selected according to the difference in the gene fragments, defining the adaptive length. The crossover operator increases the speed and accuracy of algorithm convergence by reducing the inbreeding and enhancing the global search capability of the genetic algorithm. This algorithm is compared with two existing crossover operators. The modified genetic algorithm is then used in combination with radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) to perform the parameters back analysis of a high central earth core rockfill dam. The settlements simulated using the identified parameters show good agreement with the monitoring data, illustrating that the back analysis is reasonable and accurate. The proposed genetic algorithm has considerable superiority for nonlinear multimodal parameter identification problems.