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Advances in Engineering Software

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/advengsoft

Soft computing based formulation for strength enhancement of CFRP conned

concrete cylinders
_
Abdulkadir Cevik a,*, M. Tolga Ggs a, Ibrahim
H. Gzelbey b, Hzeyin Filiz b
a
b

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Turkey

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Turkey

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 26 May 2009
Received in revised form 18 September
2009
Accepted 15 October 2009
Available online xxxx
Keywords:
Soft computing
Stepwise regression
Genetic programming
FRP connement
Concrete cylinder
Strength enhancement

a b s t r a c t
This study presents the application of soft computing techniques namely as genetic programming (GP)
and stepwise regression (SR) for formulation of strength enhancement of carbon-ber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) conned concrete cylinders. The proposed soft computing based formulations are based on
experimental results collected from literature. The accuracy of the proposed GP and SR formulations
are quite satisfactory as compared to experimental results. Moreover, the results of proposed soft computing based formulations are compared with 15 existing models proposed by various researchers so far
and are found to be more accurate.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
With over fty years of excellent performance records in the
aerospace industry, ber-reinforced-polymer (FRP) composites
have been introduced with condence to the construction industry. These high-performance materials have been accepted by civil
engineers and have been utilized in different construction applications such as repair and rehabilitation of existing structures as well
as in new construction applications. One of the successful and most
popular structural applications of FRP composites is the external
strengthening, repair and ductility enhancement of reinforced concrete (RC) columns in both seismic and corrosive environments [1].
Main types of FRP composites used in external strengthening and
repair of RC columns are: Glass-ber-reinforced polymers (GFRP),
carbon-ber-reinforced polymers (CFRP), and aramid-ber-reinforced polymers (AFRP). Types of FRP connement can be spiral,
wrapped and tube. FRP composites offer several advantages due
to extremely high strength-to-weight ratio, good corrosion behaviour, and electromagnetic neutrality. Thus the effect of FRP connement on the strength and deformation capacity of concrete
columns has been extensively studied and several empirical and
theoretical models have been proposed [2]. This study proposes a
new approach for the formulation of strength enhancement of

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 342 3172409; fax: +90 342 3601107.
E-mail address: akcevik@gantep.edu.tr (A. Cevik).

CFRP wrapped concrete cylinders using Stepwise regression and

genetic programming approach which have not been applied so
far in this eld.
2. Behaviour of FRP-conned concrete
Being a frictional material, concrete is sensitive to hydrostatic
pressure. The benecial effect of lateral stresses on the concrete
strength and deformation has been recognized nearly for a century.
In other words, when uniaxially loaded concrete is restrained from
dilating laterally, it exhibits increased strength and axial deformation capacity indicated as connement which has been generally
applied to compression members through steel transverse reinforcement in the form of spirals, circular hoops or rectangular ties,
or by encasing the concrete columns into steel tubes that act as
permanent formwork [2]. Besides steel reinforcement FRPs are also
for connement of concrete columns and offers several advantages
as compared to steel [3] such as continuous conning action to the
entire cross-section, easiness and speed of application, no change
in the shape and size of the strengthened elements, corrosive resistance [2].
Typical response of FRP-conned concrete is shown in Fig. 1,
where normalized axial stress is plotted against axial, lateral, and
volumetric strains. The stress is normalized with respect to the
unconned strength of concrete core. The gure shows that both
axial and lateral responses are bi-linear with a transition zone at

0965-9978/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Nomenclature
0
fco

fcc0
pu
El

compressive strength of the unconned concrete cylinder

compressive strength of the conned concrete cylinder
ultimate connement pressure
connement modulus or lateral modulus

or near the peak strength of unconned concrete core. The volumetric response shows a similar transition toward volume expansion. However, as soon as the jacket takes over, volumetric
response undergoes another transition which reverses the dilation
trend and results in volume compaction. This behaviour is shown
to be markedly different from plain concrete and steel-conned
concrete [4].
The characteristic response of conned concrete includes three
distinct regions of un-cracked elastic deformations, crack formation and propagation, and plastic deformations. It is generally assumed that concrete behaves like an elastic-perfectly plastic
material after reaching its maximum capacity, and that the failure
surface is xed in the stress space. Constitutive models for concrete
should be concerned with pressure sensitivity, path dependence,
stiffness degradation and cyclic response. The existing plasticity
models range from nonlinear elasticity, endo-chronic plasticity,
classical plasticity, and multi-laminate or micro-plane plasticity
to bounding surface plasticity. Many of these models, however,
are only suitable in a specic application and loading system for
which they are devised and may give unrealistic results in other
cases. Also, some of these models require several parameters to
be calibrated based on experimental results [4]. Considerable
experimental research has been performed on the behaviour of
CFRP conned concrete columns [511]. Several models are proposed in literature for the strength enhancement of FRP connement effect of concrete columns given in Table 1. Apart from
models given in Table 1, there are also studies on design-oriented
stressstrain model for FRP-conned concrete [24,25]. On the
other hand, Rousakis and Karabinis recently proposed an effective
model for FRP conning effects of substandard reinforced concrete
members subjected to compression [26]. One of the most comprehensive studies on empirical modelling for predicting the mechanical properties of FRP-conned concrete was performed by
Vintzileou and Panagiotidou where a database of 1074 t results

Ef
nt
D
L
ffu

modulus of elasticity of the FRP laminate

total thickness of FRP layer
diameter of the concrete cylinder
length of the concrete cylinder
tensile strength of the FRP laminate

were used to assess existing models that predict the strength of

conned concrete [27]. Apart from regression models, Neural Networks are also used effectively to predict the strength of FRP-conned concrete [28].
3. Soft computing
The denition of soft computing is not precise. Lot A. Zadeh,
the inventor of the term soft computing, describes it as follows
[29]:
Soft computing is a collection of methodologies that aim to
exploit the tolerance for imprecision and uncertainty to achieve
tractability, robustness, and low solution cost. Its principal constituents are fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, and probabilistic reasoning. Soft computing is likely to play an increasingly
important role in many application areas, including software
engineering. The role model for soft computing is the human
mind.
Soft computing can be seen as an attempt of collection of techniques that mimic natural creatures: plants, animals, human
beings, which are soft, exible, adaptive and clever. It can be described as a family of problem-solving methods that have analogy
with biological reasoning and problem solving. It includes basic
methods such as fuzzy logic (FL), neural networks (NN), genetic
algorithms (GA) and genetic programming the methods which
do not derive from classical theories. Soft computing can also be
seen as a foundation for the growing eld of computational intelligence (CI) as an alternative to traditional articial intelligence
(AI) which is based on hard computing [30].
In many ways, soft computing represents a signicant paradigm
shift in the aims of computing a shift which reects the fact that
the human mind, unlike present day computers, possesses a
remarkable ability to store and process information which is pervasively imprecise, uncertain and lacking in categorisation [31].
Two soft computing approaches based on stepwise regression
and genetic programming is the scope of this study which will be
described in the following sections.
3.1. Brief overview of stepwise regression

Fig. 1. Typical response of FRP-conned concrete [4].

While dealing with large number of independent variables, it is

of signicance to determine the best combination of these variables to predict the dependent variable. Stepwise regression serves
as a robust tool for the selection of best subset models, i.e. the best
combination of independent variables that best ts the dependent
variable with considerably less computing than is required for all
possible regressions [32].
The determination of subset models are based on consecutively
by adding or deleting, the variable/variables that has the greatest
impact on the residual sum of squares. The selection of variables
may be either forward, backward or a combination of them. In forward selection, the subset models are chosen by adding one

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Table 1
Models for strength enhancement of FRP-conned concrete cylinders.
Model

0
)
Expression (fcc0 =fco

Fardis and Khalili [12]

fcc0
p
1 4:1 0u
fco0
fco
 0:86
fcc0
p
1 3:7 0u
fco0
fco

1
2

Saadatmanesh et al. [13]

r
fcc0
p
p
2:254 1 7:94 0u  2 0u  1:254 3
fco0
fco
fco

Miyauchi et al. [5]

fcc0
p
1 3:485 0u
fco0
fco

Kono et al. [6]

fcc0
1 0:0572pu
fco0

Saaman et. al. [14]

fcc0
p0:7
1 6:0 u0
fco0
fco

Tountanji [15]

 0:85
fcc0
p
1 3:5 0u
0
fco
fco

Saa et al. [16]

 0:84
fcc0
p
1 2:2 0u
fco0
fco

Spoelstra and Monti [17]

 0:5
fcc0
p
0:2 3 0u
0
fco
fco

Xiao and Wu [18]



fcc0
fco0 2 pu

1:1

4:1

0:75
fco0
E1 fco0

10

Karabinis and Rousakis [19]

 0:87
fcc0
p
1 2:1 0u
0
fco
fco

11

Lam and Teng [20]

 
fcc0
p
1 2:0 0u
0
fco
fco

12

Shehata et al. [21]

 
fcc0
pu

1:25
fco0
fco0

13

Matthys et al. [22]

 0:85
fcc0
p
1 2:3 0u
0
fco
fco

14

Kumutha et al. [23]

 
fcc0
p
1 0:93 0u
fco0
fco

15

at each step the one variable whose deletion will cause the residual
sum of squares to increase the least and continues until the subset
model contains only one variable [33].
Regarding forward and backward procedures, it should be noted
that the effect of adding or deleting a variable on the contributions
of other variables to the model is not being considered. Thus stepwise regression is actually a forward selection process that rechecks at each step the importance of all previously included
variables. If the partial sums of squares for any previously included
variables do not meet a minimum criterion to stay in the model,
the selection procedure changes to backward elimination and variables are dropped one at a time until all remaining variables meet
the minimum criterion. Stepwise selection of variables requires
more computing than forward or backward selection but has an
advantage in terms of the number of potential subset models
checked before the model for each subset size is decided. It is reasonable to expect stepwise selection to have a greater chance of
choosing the best subsets in the sample data, but selection of the
best subset for each subset size is not guaranteed. The stopping
rule for stepwise selection of variables uses both the forward and
backward elimination criteria. The variable selection process terminates when all variables in the model meet the criterion to stay
and no variables outside the model meet the criterion to enter [33].
3.2. Overview of genetic programming

variable at a time to the previously chosen subset. At each successive step, the variable in the subset of variables not already in the
model that causes the largest decrease in the residual sum of
squares is added to the subset. Without a termination rule, forward
selection continues until all variables are in the model. On the
other hand, backward stepwise selection of variables chooses the
subset models by starting with the full model and then eliminating

Genetic programming (GP) proposed by Koza [34] is an extension to genetic algorithms (GA). Koza denes GP as a domain-independent problem-solving approach in which computer programs
are evolved to solve, or approximately solve, problems based on
the Darwinian principle of reproduction and survival of the ttest
and analogs of naturally occurring genetic operations such as
crossover (sexual recombination) and mutation.
When the genetic algorithm is implemented it is usually done
in a manner that involves the following cycle: Evaluate the tness
of all of the individuals in the population. Create a new population
by performing operations such as crossover, tness-proportionate
reproduction and mutation on the individuals whose tness has
just been measured. Discard the old population and iterate using
the new population. GP reproduces computer programs to solve
problems by executing the following steps:
(1) Generate an initial population of random compositions of
the functions and terminals of the problem (computer
programs).
(2) Execute each program in the population and assign it a tness value according to how well it solves the problem.
(3) Create a new population of computer programs.
(i) Copy the best existing programs (reproduction).
(ii) Create new computer programs by mutation.
(iii) Create new computer programs by crossover (sexual
reproduction).
(iv) Select an architecture-altering operation from the programs stored so far.
(4) The best computer program that appeared in any generation,
the best-so-far solution, is designated as the result of genetic
programming [34].
Gene expression programming (GEP) software which is used in
this study is an extension to GP that evolves computer programs of
different sizes and shapes encoded in linear chromosomes of xed
length. The chromosomes are composed of multiple genes, each
gene encoding a smaller sub-program. Furthermore, the structural
and functional organization of the linear chromosomes allows the
unconstrained operation of important genetic operators such as
mutation, transposition, and recombination. One strength side of

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the GEP approach is that the creation of genetic diversity is extremely simplied as genetic operators work at the chromosome level. Another strength side of GEP consists of its unique,
multigenic nature which allows the evolution of more complex
programs composed of several sub-programs. As a result GEP surpasses the old GP system in 10010,000 times [3537]. APS 3.0
[38], a GEP software developed by Candida Ferreira is used in this
study.
The fundamental difference between GA, GP and GEP is due to
the nature of the individuals: in GAs the individuals are linear
strings of xed length (chromosomes); in GP the individuals are
nonlinear entities of different sizes and shapes (parse trees); and
in GEP the individuals are encoded as linear strings of xed length
(the genome or chromosomes) which are afterwards expressed as
nonlinear entities of different sizes and shapes (i.e., simple diagram
representations or expression trees). Thus the two main parameters GEP are the chromosomes and expression trees (ETs). The process of information decoding (from the chromosomes to the ETs) is
called translation which is based on a set of rules. The genetic code
is very simple where there exist one-to-one relationships between
the symbols of the chromosome and the functions or terminals
they represent. The rules which are also very simple determine
the spatial organization of the functions and terminals in the ETs
and the type of interaction between sub-ETs [2527]. Thats why
two languages are utilized in GEP: the language of the genes and
the language of ETs. A signicant advantage of GEP is that it enables to infer exactly the phenotype given the sequence of a gene,
and vice versa which is termed as Karva language. For each problem, the type of linking function, as well as the number of genes
and the length of each gene, are a priori chosen for each problem.
While attempting to solve a problem, one can always start by using
a single-gene chromosome and then proceed by increasing the
length of the head. If it becomes very large, one can increase the
number of genes and obviously choose a function to link the subETs. One can start with addition for algebraic expressions or OR
for Boolean expressions, but in some cases another linking function
might be more appropriate (like multiplication or IF, for instance).
The idea, of course, is to nd a good solution, and GEP provides the
means of nding one very efciently [36].

As an illustrative example consider the following case where

the objective is to show how GEP can be used to model complex
realities with high accuracy. So, suppose one is given a sampling
of the numerical values from the curve (remember, however, that
in real-world problems the function is obviously unknown):

y 3a2 2a 1

16

over 10 randomly chosen points in the real interval [10, +10] and
the aim is to nd a function tting those values within a certain error. In this case, a sample of data in the form of 10 pairs (ai, yi) is
given where ai is the value of the independent variable in the given
interval and yi is the respective value of the dependent variable (ai
values: 4.2605, 2.0437, 9.8317, 8.6491, 0.7328, 3.6101,
2.7429, 1.8999, 4.8852, 7.3998; the corresponding yi values
can be easily evaluated). These 10 pairs are the tness cases (the input) that will be used as the adaptation environment. The tness of
a particular program will depend on how well it performs in this
environment [36].
There are ve major steps in preparing to use gene expression
programming. The rst is to choose the tness function. For this
problem one could measure the tness fi of an individual program
i by the following expression:

fi

Ct
X


M  jC i;j  T j j

17

j1

where M is the range of selection, C(i,j) the value returned by the

individual chromosome i for tness case j (out of Ct tness cases)
and Tj is the target value for tness case j. If, for all j, |C(i,j)  Tj|
(the precision) less than or equal to 0.01, then the precision is equal
to zero, and fi = fmax = Ct  M. For this problem, use an M = 100 and,
therefore, fmax = 1000. The advantage of this kind of tness function
is that the system can nd the optimal solution for itself. However,
there are other tness functions available which can be appropriate
for different problem types [36].
The second step is choosing the set of terminals T and the set
of functions F to create the chromosomes. In this problem, the
terminal set consists obviously of the independent variable, i.e.,
T = {a}. The choice of the appropriate function set is not so obvious,
but a good guess can always be done in order to include all the

Fig. 2. ET for the problem of Eq. (13).

Table 2
Experimental database and ranges of variables.
Ref.

Number of specimen

D (mm)

nt (mm)

Ef (MPa)

0
(MPa)
fco

Miyauchi et al. [5]

Kono et al. [6]
Matthys et al. [7]
Shahawy et al. [8]
Rochette and Labossiere [9]
Micelli et al. [10]
Rousakis [11]

10
17
2
9
7
8
48

100, 150
100
150
153
100, 150
100
150

0.110.33
0.1670.501
0.117, 0.235
0.361.25
0.65.04
0.16, 0.35
0.1690.845

3481
3820
2600, 1100
2275
230, 1265
1520, 3790
2024

31.251.9
32.334.8
34.9
19.449
4243
3237
25.1582.13

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Table 3
Parameters of the GEP models.
p x
, e , ln(x), power

P1

Function set

+, -, *, /,

P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12

Chromosomes
Head size
Number of genes
Linking function
Fitness function error type
Mutation rate
Inversion rate
One-point recombination rate
Two-point recombination rate
Gene recombination rate
Gene transposition rate

3060
6, 8, 10
3
Addition, multiplication
MAE (mean absolute error), custom tness function
0.044
0.1
0.3
0.3
0.1
0.1

Table 4
Statistical parameters of testing and training sets.

Mean
Std. Dev.
R

Testing set (SR)

Training set (SR)

Testing set (GP)

Training set (GP)

1.01
0.12
0.95

0.99
0.13
0.93

1.00
0.09
0.94

0.96
0.14
0.92

necessary functions. In this case, to make things simple, use the

four basic arithmetic operators. Thus, F = {+, , , /}. It should be
noted that there many other functions that can be used.
The third step is to choose the chromosomal architecture, i.e.,
the length of the head and the number of genes.
The fourth major step in preparing to use gene expression programming is to choose the linking function. In this case we will link
the sub-ETs by addition. Other linking functions are also available
such as subtraction, multiplication and division.
And nally, the fth step is to choose the set of genetic operators that cause variation and their rates. In this case one can use
a combination of all genetic operators (mutation at pm = 0.051; IS
and RIS transposition at rates of 0.1 and three transposons of
length 1, 2, and 3; one-point and two-point recombination at rates
of 0.3; gene transposition and gene recombination both at rates of
0.1). To solve this problem, Lets choose an evolutionary time of 50
generations and a small population of 20 individuals in order to
simplify the analysis of the evolutionary process and not ll this
text with pages of encoded individuals. However, one of the advantages of GEP is that it is capable of solving relatively complex problems using small population sizes and, thanks to the compact
Karva notation; it is possible to fully analyze the evolutionary history of a run. A perfect solution can be found in generation 3 which
has the maximum value 1000 of tness. The sub-ETs codied by
each gene are given in Fig. 2. Note that it corresponds exactly to
the same test function given above in Eq. (16) [36].
Thus expressions for each corresponding Sub-ET can be given as
follows:

y a2 a a 1 2a2 3a2 2a 1

of FRP was excluded in the variables as tensile strength of the

FRP laminate (ffu) was used instead. The use of strain at failure of
FRP together with the modulus of elasticity of the FRP laminate

18

4. Numerical application
One of the main issues in modelling experimental data is the
determination of variables that will be used in the modelling. In
this study, prior to the modelling phase the correlation of each variable on output which is the conned strength has been determined. As a result of these analyses, diameter of the concrete
cylinder (D), total thickness of FRP layer (nt), tensile strength of
the FRP laminate (ffu) and compressive strength of the unconned
concrete cylinder (fco) was used in the modelling. Strain at failure

Fig. 3. Expression tree (ET) of the proposed GP formulation.

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Table 5
Models considered in SR process (inputs vs. equations).
Model

Inputs

Equation

Linear
Linear + interaction
Full quadratic
Squared + interaction

x1, x2
x1, x2, x1  x2
x1, x2, x1  x1, x2  x2, x1  x2
x1, x2, x1  x1, x2  x2, x1  x2, x1  x1  x2, x1 
x2  x2

y = b0 + b1  x1 + b2  x2
y = b0 + b1  x1 + b2  x2 + b3  x1  x2
y = b0 + b1  x1 + b2  x2 + b3  x1  x1 + b4  x1  x2 + b5  x2  x2
y = b0 + b1  x1 + b2  x2 + b3  x1  x1 + b4  x1  x2 + b5  x2  x2 + b6  x1  x1  x2 + b7  x1  x2  x2

Table 6
Statistical details and equations of best subsets for each stepwise regression model.
Model

Equation of best subset

Constants

COV

Linear

fcc = b0 + b1  ln Ef + b2  ln 1/fco + b3  ln 1/nt + b4  nt + b5  1/D + b6  D + b7  1/nt + b8  Ef + b9  1/Ef

b0 = 6766.2
b1 = 174.93
b2 = 39.70
b3 = 53.46
b4 = 14.49
b5 = 964,690
b6 = 16.08
b7 = 5.402
b8 = 0.05178
b9 = 54536.1

0.95

0.12

Linear + interaction

fcc = b0 + b1  fco  ln Ef + b2  1/nt  1/Ef + b3  1/D  1/fco

b0 = 91.78
b1 = 0.08324
b2 = 15308.6
b3 = 182,923

0.893

0.14

Full quadratic

fcc = b0 + b1  fco  ln Ef + b2  1/nt  1/Ef + b3  1/D  1/fco + b4  fco  fco + b5  Ef  ln nt

b0 = 56.17
b1 = 0.231
b2 = 12038.5
b3 = 100,483
b4 = 0.00984
b5 = 0.00201

0.905

0.13

Squared + interaction

fcc = b0 + b1  D  fco  ln Ef + b2  fco  1/nt  1/Ef + b3  nt  1/nt  1/fco + b4  1/fco  ln nt  ln 1/fco + b5  1/

D  1/Ef  ln Ef + b6  fco  fco  1/Ef + b7  1/nt  1/Ef  1/fco

b0 = 249.07
b1 = 0.000592
b2 = 101.31
b3 = 2279.6
b4 = 339.11
b5 = 3842947.468
b6 = 21.68
b7 = 358,381

0.931

0.12

was also evaluated before modelling phase and the effect of tensile
strength of the FRP laminate (ffu) was observed to be more
signicant.
4.1. Numerical application of GP
The main aim in this study is to obtain an empirical formulation
using stepwise regression and genetic programming for enhanced
strength of CFRP conned concrete cylinders based on test results
available in literature as a function the following parameters:

fcc0 f D; nt; ffu ; fco

19

Therefore, an extensive literature review on experimental studies related to strength enhancement of CFRP wrapped concrete cylinders has been carried out and an experimental database has been
gathered. It should be noted that all specimen used in the database
have a length to diameter ratio of 2 (L/D = 2). A total of 101 specimens from 7 separate studies with the ranges of variables were included in the database shown in Table 2. Further details of the
experimental database are given in Table A.1.
To achieve generalization capability for the formulations, the
experimental database is divided into two sets as training and
test sets. The formulations are based on training sets and are further tested by test set values to measure their generalization
capability. The patterns used in test and training sets are randomly selected. For example, regarding the ETF formulation,

among 101 tests 18 tests were used as test set given in bold
and the remaining as training set (Table A.1). Related parameters
for the training of the GP models are given in Table 3. Detailed
information on values given in Table 3 can be found in Section
3.2. Statistical parameters of test and training sets of GP formulations are presented in Table 4 where R corresponds to the coefcient of correlation and Std. Dev. refers to standard deviation of
the mean of test/predicted values.
The results of the proposed GP formulations vs. actual experimental values are given in Tables 8. The expression tree of the formulation obtained from APS 3.0 is shown in Fig. 3 which
corresponds to the following equation:

fcc

q p 
ffu  nt e 1=ffu tan1000 1=nt

q

p
tan 455= ffu fco  tan fco 1=D

20

4.2. Numerical application of SR

Possible forms for all combinations of independent variables
used for the stepwise selection process are given as follows:

X i ; 1=X i ; X 2 ; lnX; 1=lnX

where Xi stands for the independent variables given in Eq. (19).

Please cite this article in press as: Cevik A et al. Soft computing based formulation for strength enhancement of CFRP conned concrete cylinders. Adv Eng
Softw (2009), doi:10.1016/j.advengsoft.2009.10.015

Test/
SR

Test/
GP

Test/Eq.
(1)

Test/Eq.
(2)

Test/Eq.
(3)

Test/Eq.
(4)

Test/Eq.
(5)

Test/Eq.
(6)

Test/Eq.
(7)

Test/Eq.
(8)

Test/Eq.
(9)

Test/Eq.
(10)

Test/Eq.
(11)

Test/Eq.
(12)

Test/Eq.
(13)

Test/Eq.
(14)

Test/Eq.
(15)

Mean
Std.
Dev.
COV
R

1.00
0.12

0.99
0.10

1.23
0.19

0.78
0.15

0.82
0.12

0.88
0.18

1.06
0.20

0.97
0.15

0.80
0.15

0.99
0.15

1.03
0.18

1.30
0.90

1.02
0.16

1.10
0.18

1.27
0.19

0.98
0.15

1.37
0.22

0.12
0.95

0.10
0.94

0.15
0.87

0.19
0.87

0.15
0.85

0.20
0.86

0.19
0.77

0.15
0.87

0.18
0.87

0.15
0.87

0.17
0.87

0.69
0.87

0.15
0.87

0.16
0.87

0.15
0.87

0.15
0.87

0.16
0.87

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Model

A. Cevik et al. / Advances in Engineering Software xxx (2009) xxxxxx

7

Please cite this article in press as: Cevik A et al. Soft computing based formulation for strength enhancement of CFRP conned concrete cylinders. Adv Eng
Softw (2009), doi:10.1016/j.advengsoft.2009.10.015

Table 7
Statistics of performance and accuracy of (fcc0 /fco0 ) of proposed GP, SR formulations and existing models compared to experimental results.

ARTICLE IN PRESS
8

A. Cevik et al. / Advances in Engineering Software xxx (2009) xxxxxx

Models considered for the stepwise regression process are given

in Table 5 for 2 independent variables (x1, x2) and 1 dependent
variable (y) with possible corresponding equations. All possible
combinations of independent variables with models considered
and corresponding equation of best subset are given in Table 6.
The stepwise regression analysis in this study is performed by SPSS
and the following SR equation has been obtained for the best subset (R = 0.95):

fcc 6766 174:9  lnffu  39:7  ln1=fco  53:5

 ln1=nt  14:5  nt  964; 690  1=D  16  D 5:4
 1=nt  0:052  ffu 54; 536  1=ffu

21

Statistical parameters of test and training sets of GP formulations are presented in Table 4. The results of the proposed SR formulation vs. actual experimental values are given in Table A.1.
Statistical parameters of proposed GP and SR formulations compared with existing models are presented in Table 7. It should be
noted that the proposed GP and SR formulations presented above
are valid only for the ranges of experimental database given in Table 2 and for specimen that have a length to diameter ratio of 2 (L/
D = 2).
5. Conclusion
This study proposes application of soft computing techniques
namely as stepwise regression and genetic programming for the
formulation of strength enhancement of CFRP conned concrete
cylinders which have not been used so far. The proposed SR and

GP formulations are actually empirical formulations based on a

wide range of experimental database collected from literature.
Both formulations are quite accurate show good agreement with
experimental results. For comparative analysis, Numerical results
of the same experimental database are obtained by existing models
and the proposed SR and GP formulations and soft computing
based formulations are found to be more accurate. It should be
noted that empirical formulations in structural engineering are
mostly based on predened functions where regression analysis
of these functions are later performed. However, in the case of SR
and GP approach there is no predened function to be considered,
i.e. SR and GP adds or deletes various combinations of parameters
to be considered for the formulation that best ts the experimental
results based on highest correlation coefcient. However, it should
be kept in mind that SR and GP models presented in this study are
constructed from the experimental database used in this study
which means they are valid for ranges of variables of the database.
Prediction for tests that are not present in the database may lead to
inconsistent results. Therefore, these models should be updated
with extra test results. If a larger database is used, the models presented in this study may change considerably. This can be treated
as a disadvantage which is actually true for many regression models. It is obvious that soft computing based formulations will serve
as a robust approach for the accurate and effective explicit formulation of many structural engineering problems in the future.
Appendix A
Table A.1.

Table A.1
Results of the SR and GP formulations vs. experimental and theoretical results.
Ref.

Code

D (mm)

nt (mm)

ffu (MPa)

fco (MPa)

fcc test (MPa)

Test/SR

Test/GP

Miyauchi et al. [5]

MI1
MI2
MI3
MI4
MI5
MI6
MI7
MI8
MI9
MI10

150
150
150
150
150
100
100
100
100
150

0.11
0.22
0.11
0.22
0.33
0.11
0.22
0.11
0.22
0.11

3481
3481
3481
3481
3481
3481
3481
3481
3481
3481

45.2
45.2
31.2
31.2
31.2
51.9
51.9
33.7
33.7
45.2

59.4
79.4
52.4
67.4
81.7
75.2
104.6
69.6
88
59.4

fcc SR (MPa)
68.53
79.44
53.81
64.72
76.62
74.47
85.38
57.32
68.23
68.53

fcc GP (MPa)
67.53
78.16
56.98
67.60
71.94
84.92
95.54
60.32
70.95
67.53

0.87
1.00
0.97
1.04
1.06
1.01
1.22
1.22
1.28
0.87

0.88
1.02
0.92
1.00
1.14
0.88
1.10
1.15
1.23
0.88

Kono et al. [6]

KO1
KO2
KO3
KO4
KO5
KO6
KO7
KO8
KO9
KO10
KO11
KO12
KO13
KO14
KO15
KO16
KO17

100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100

0.167
0.167
0.167
0.167
0.167
0.334
0.334
0.334
0.501
0.501
0.167
0.167
0.167
0.334
0.334
0.501
0.501

3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820
3820

34.3
34.3
32.3
32.3
32.3
32.3
32.3
32.3
32.3
32.3
34.8
34.8
34.8
34.8
34.8
34.8
34.8

57.4
64.9
58.2
61.8
57.7
61.8
80.2
58.2
86.9
90.1
57.8
55.6
50.7
82.7
81.4
103.3
110.1

60.07
60.07
57.69
57.69
57.69
76.15
76.15
76.15
90.02
90.02
60.65
60.65
60.65
79.11
79.11
92.98
92.98

61.02
61.02
57.42
57.42
57.42
68.30
68.30
68.30
94.15
94.15
61.00
61.00
61.00
71.89
71.89
97.74
97.74

0.95
1.08
1.01
1.08
1.00
0.81
1.05
0.76
0.96
1.00
0.95
0.92
0.83
1.04
1.03
1.11
1.19

0.94
1.06
1.01
1.08
1.00
0.85
0.90
1.18
0.93
0.96
0.94
0.91
0.83
1.15
1.14
1.05
1.12

Matthys et al. [7]

MA1
MA2

150
150

0.117
0.235

2600
1100

34.9
34.9

46.1
45.8

58.4
26.59

46.99
53.98

0.79
1.72

0.98
0.85

Shahawy et al. [8]

SH1
SH2
SH3
SH4

153
153
153
153

0.36
0.66
0.9
1.08

2275
2275
2275
2275

19.4
19.4
19.4
19.4

33.8
46.4
62.6
75.7

29.26
50.5
61.42
67.56

46.91
60.05
65.75
69.91

1.15
0.92
1.02
1.12

0.72
0.78
0.95
1.09

Please cite this article in press as: Cevik A et al. Soft computing based formulation for strength enhancement of CFRP conned concrete cylinders. Adv Eng
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ARTICLE IN PRESS
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A. Cevik et al. / Advances in Engineering Software xxx (2009) xxxxxx

Table A.1 (continued)
Ref.

Code

D (mm)

nt (mm)

ffu (MPa)

fco (MPa)

fcc test (MPa)

fcc SR (MPa)

fcc GP (MPa)

Test/SR

Test/GP

Shahawy et al. [8]

SH5
SH6
SH7
SH8
SH9

153
153
153
153
153

1.25
0.36
0.66
0.9
1.08

2275
2275
2275
2275
2275

19.4
49
49
49
49

80.2
59.1
76.5
98.8
112.7

72.23
66.04
87.28
98.21
104.35

73.60
79.84
92.99
98.68
102.84

1.11
0.89
0.88
1.01
1.08

1.09
0.74
0.82
1.00
1.10

Rochette and Labossiere [9]

RL1
RL2
RL3
RL4
RL5
RL6
RL7

100
100
100
150
150
150
150

0.6
0.6
0.6
1.26
2.52
3.78
5.04

1265
1265
1265
230
230
230
230

42
42
42
43
43
43
43

73.5
73.5
67.62
47.3
58.91
70.95
74.39

74.67
74.67
74.67
49.93
66.59
69.3
66.07

70.18
70.18
70.18
55.75
62.88
68.52
73.32

0.98
0.98
0.91
0.94
0.88
1.02
1.12

1.05
1.05
0.96
0.85
0.93
1.03
1.01

Micelli et al. [10]

MC1
MC2
MC3
MC4
MC5
MC6
MC7
MC8

100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100

0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.16
0.16
0.16
0.16

1520
1520
1520
1520
3790
3790
3790
3790

32
32
32
32
37
37
37
37

54
48
54
50
60
62
59
57

56.8
56.8
56.8
56.8
62.6
62.6
62.6
62.6

52.66
52.66
52.66
52.66
64.17
64.17
64.17
64.17

0.95
0.85
0.95
0.88
0.96
0.99
0.94
0.91

1.02
0.91
1.02
0.95
0.93
0.97
0.92
0.88

Rousakis [11]

RO1
RO2
RO3
RO4
RO5
RO6
RO7
RO8
RO9
RO10
RO11
RO12
RO13
RO14

150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150

0.169
0.169
0.169
0.338
0.338
0.338
0.507
0.507
0.507
0.169
0.169
0.169
0.338
0.338

2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024

25.15
25.15
25.15
25.15
25.15
25.15
25.15
25.15
25.15
47.44
47.44
47.44
47.44
47.44

44.13
41.56
38.75
60.09
55.93
61.61
67
67.27
70.18
72.26
64.4
66.19
82.36
82.35

42.08
42.08
42.08
60.7
60.7
60.7
74.61
74.61
74.61
67.27
67.27
67.27
85.9
85.9

43.66
43.66
43.66
51.84
51.84
51.84
70.73
70.73
70.73
65.63
65.63
65.63
73.82
73.82

1.05
0.99
0.92
0.99
0.92
1.01
0.90
0.90
0.94
1.08
0.96
0.98
0.96
0.96

1.01
0.95
0.88
1.16
1.08
1.19
0.94
0.95
0.99
1.10
0.98
1.01
1.11
1.11

RO15
RO16
RO17
RO18
RO19
RO20
RO21
RO22
RO23
RO24
RO25
RO26
RO27
RO28
RO29
RO30
RO31
RO32
RO33
RO34
RO35
RO36
RO37
RO38
RO39
RO40
RO41
RO42
RO43
RO44
RO45
RO46
RO47
RO48

150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150

0.338
0.507
0.507
0.507
0.169
0.169
0.169
0.338
0.338
0.338
0.507
0.507
0.507
0.845
0.845
0.845
0.169
0.169
0.169
0.338
0.338
0.338
0.507
0.507
0.507
0.169
0.169
0.169
0.338
0.338
0.338
0.507
0.507
0.507

2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024

47.44
47.44
47.44
47.44
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
51.84
70.48
70.48
70.48
70.48
70.48
70.48
70.48
70.48
70.48
82.13
82.13
82.13
82.13
82.13
82.13
82.13
82.13
82.13

79.11
96.29
95.22
103.9
78.65
79.18
72.76
95.4
90.3
90.65
110.5
103.6
117.2
112.6
126.6
137.9
87.29
84.03
83.22
94.06
98.13
107.2
114.1
108
110.3
94.08
97.6
95.83
97.43
98.85
98.24
124.2
129.5
120.3

85.9
99.8
99.8
99.8
70.79
70.79
70.79
89.42
89.42
89.42
103.32
103.32
103.32
121.48
121.48
121.48
82.99
82.99
82.99
101.62
101.62
101.62
115.52
115.52
115.52
89.06
89.06
89.06
107.69
107.69
107.69
121.59
121.59
121.59

73.82
92.70
92.70
92.70
86.68
86.68
86.68
94.86
94.86
94.86
113.75
113.75
113.75
112.03
112.03
112.03
82.36
82.36
82.36
90.55
90.55
90.55
109.43
109.43
109.43
100.16
100.16
100.16
108.35
108.35
108.35
127.23
127.23
127.23
Mean
Std. Dev.
R

0.92
0.96
0.95
1.04
1.11
1.12
1.03
1.06
1.01
1.01
1.06
1.00
1.14
0.93
1.04
1.14
1.05
1.01
1.00
0.93
0.96
1.05
0.99
0.93
0.95
1.05
1.10
1.08
0.90
0.92
0.91
1.02
1.06
0.99
1.00
0.12
0.95

1.08
1.04
1.03
1.12
0.91
0.92
0.84
1.01
0.95
0.95
0.97
0.91
1.03
1.01
1.14
1.23
1.06
1.02
1.01
1.04
1.09
1.19
1.04
0.99
1.01
0.94
0.97
0.95
0.90
0.91
0.91
0.98
1.02
0.94
0.99
0.10
0.94

Bold sets are test sets.

Please cite this article in press as: Cevik A et al. Soft computing based formulation for strength enhancement of CFRP conned concrete cylinders. Adv Eng
Softw (2009), doi:10.1016/j.advengsoft.2009.10.015

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Please cite this article in press as: Cevik A et al. Soft computing based formulation for strength enhancement of CFRP conned concrete cylinders. Adv Eng
Softw (2009), doi:10.1016/j.advengsoft.2009.10.015