PREDICTIVE MODEL TO THE BOND STRENGTH OF FRP-TO-CONCRETE UNDER DIRECT PULLOUT USING GENE EXPRESSION PROGRAMMING

Abstract

Gene expression programming (GEP) is used in this research to develop an empirical model that predicts the bond strength between the concrete surface and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets under direct pull out. Therefore, a large and reliable database containing 770 test specimens is collected from the literature. The gene expression programming model is developed using eight parameters that predominantly control the bond strength. These parameters are concrete compressive strength, maximum aggregate size, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tensile strength, FRP thickness, FRP modulus of elasticity, adhesive tensile strength, FRP length, and FRP width. The model is validated using the experimental results and a statistical assessment is implemented to evaluate the performance of the proposed GEP model. Furthermore, the predicted bond results, obtained using the GEP model, are compared to the results obtained from several analytical models available in the literature and a parametric study is conducted to further ensure the consistency of the model by checking the trends between the input parameters and the predicted bond strength. The proposed model can reasonably predict the bond strength that is most fitting to the experimental database compared to the analytical models and the trends of the GEP model are in agreement with the overall trends of the analytical models and experimental tests.