Combining machine learning models via adaptive ensemble weighting for prediction of shear capacity of reinforced‑concrete deep beams

This study presents a novel artificial intelligence (AI) technique based on two support vector machine (SVM) models and symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm, called “optimized support vector machines with adaptive ensemble weight- ing” (OSVM-AEW), to predict the shear capacity of reinforced-concrete (RC) deep beams. This ensemble learning-based system combines two supervised learning models—the support vector machine (SVM) and least-squares support vector machine (LS-SVM)—with the SOS optimization algorithm as the optimizer. In OSVM-AEW, SOS is integrated to simulta- neously select the optimal parameters of SVM and LS-SVM, and control the coordination process of the learning outputs. Experimental results show that OSVM-AEW achieves the greatest evaluation criteria for coefficient of correlation (0.9620), coefficient of determination (0.9254), mean absolute error (0.3854 MPa), mean absolute percentage error (7.68%), and root- mean-squared error (0.5265 MPa). This paper demonstrates the successful application of OSVM-AEW as an efficient tool for helping structural engineers in the RC deep beams design process

Prediction of building damage induced by tunnelling through an optimized artificial neural network

Ground surface movement due to tunnelling in urban areas imposes strains to the adjacent buildings through distortion and rotation, and may consequently cause structural damage. The methods of building damage estimation are generally based on a two-stage procedure in which ground movement in the greenfield condition is estimated empirically, and then, a separate method based on structural mechanic principles is used to assess the damage. This paper predicts the building damage based on a model obtained from artificial neural network and a particle swarm optimization algorithm. To develop the model, the input and output parameters were collected from Line No. 2 of the Karaj Urban Railway Project in Iran. Accordingly, two case studies of damaged buildings were used to assess the ability of this model to predict the damage. Comparison with the measured data indicated that the model achieved the satisfactory results