Scientia Iranica A (2012) 19 (2), 242–248

Sharif University of Technology

Scientia Iranica
Transactions A: Civil Engineering
www.sciencedirect.com

Research note

Prediction of shear strength of reinforced concrete beams using

adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and artificial neural network
J. Amani ∗ , R. Moeini
School of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran
Alaodoleh Semnani Institute of Higher Education, Hajiabad, Garmsar, P.O. Box 35815-333, Iran

Received 13 July 2011; revised 25 December 2011; accepted 25 January 2012

KEYWORDS Abstract In this paper, the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference
Reinforced concrete beam; System (ANFIS) are used to predict the shear strength of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams, and the models
Shear strength; are compared with American Concrete Institute (ACI) and Iranian Concrete Institute (ICI) empirical codes.
Artificial neural network; The ANN model, with Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), using a Back-Propagation (BP) algorithm, is used
Adaptive neuro-fuzzy to predict the shear strength of RC beams. Six important parameters are selected as input parameters
inference system; including: concrete compressive strength, longitudinal reinforcement volume, shear span-to-depth ratio,
Iranian concrete institute transverse reinforcement, effective depth of the beam and beam width. The ANFIS model is also applied
code; to a database and results are compared with the ANN model and empirical codes. The first-order Sugeno
American concrete institute fuzzy is used because the consequent part of the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) is linear and the parameters
code. can be estimated by a simple least squares error method. Comparison between the models and the
empirical formulas shows that the ANN model with the MLP/BP algorithm provides better prediction for
shear strength. In adition, ANN and ANFIS models are more accurate than ICI and ACI empirical codes in
prediction of RC beams shear strength.
© 2012 Sharif University of Technology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

1. Introduction difficult to establish an overall model to provide accurate esti-

Nowadays, the use of concrete structural members is in-
creased. The strength of members in the design and behavior of
shear strength is an important issue in structural design. There
are several modes of failure in concrete structural members.
Due to the fragility of concrete structures, shear failure is one
of the most important and undesirable modes of failure. Hence,
Reinforced Concrete (RC) members are used to resist shear fail-
ure. Because of the complexity of shear mechanisms of rein-
forced concrete beams and various influencing parameters, it is
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 232 4533924, +98 914 1537221.
E-mail addresses: jamani@iust.ac.ir (J. Amani), rmoeini@iust.ac.ir
(R. Moeini).
1026-3098 © 2012 Sharif University of Technology. Production and hosting by
Elsevier B.V. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Peer review under responsibility of Sharif University of Technology.
doi:10.1016/j.scient.2012.02.009
mation of shear strength. Hence, exact values of shear strength
are unknown. Several empirical formulas are proposed in the
literature and concrete codes for the prediction of RC beams
resistance. The American Concrete Institute (ACI) code [1] has
been widely used in structural design. In addition, the Iranian
Concrete Instauration (ICI) code [2] is proposed for practical sit-
uations in Iran. Each of the proposed empirical formulas in con-
crete codes yields good results just for a particular dataset. In
the last decades, numerous works have been undertaken to im-
prove the ability of empirical formula to predict the shear be-
havior of concrete structural members [3–9].
In recent decades, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and
Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) have been
used to predict concrete properties. ANN is a powerful tool
for system modeling in a wide range of applications. However,
despite the excellent classification capacities of the latter, its
development can be time-consuming and computer-intensive.
The most important advantage of the ANN model is that
the priority of the functional relationship among the various
variables is not required. The ANNs automatically build a
relationship for network architecture as experimental data
through a learning algorithm.
Kasperkiewicz et al. [10] applied ANN of the fuzzy type for
predicting the strength properties of High-Performance Con-
crete (HPC) mixes. Yeh [11] used augment-neuron networks to
 J. Amani, R. Moeini / Scientia Iranica, Transactions A: Civil Engineering 19 (2012) 242–248
model concrete strength. Guang and Zong [12] predicted the
compressive strength of concrete by ANN. Waszczyszyn and
Ziemianski [13] used ANN for the mechanics of structures and
materials. Bai et al. [14] used ANN to predict the workability of
concrete with cement replacement materials. Hadi [15] proved
that ANN is more accurate and easy to implement compared
to conventional methods for concert structural design. Oreta
and Kawashima [16] applied the neural network in the model-
ing of the confined compressive strength and strain of circular
concrete columns. In addition, Lee [17] used ANN for concrete
strength prediction. Kim et al. [18] applied ANN for estimation
of concrete strength with concrete mix parameters. Oreta [19]
simulated size effect on the shear strength of RC beams using
a neural network. Mansour et al. [20] used ANN to predict the
shear strength of RC beams. Cladera and Mari [21] used ANN in
beams with stirrups for the shear design procedure of normal
and high strength reinforced concrete beams. Abdalla et al. [22]
simulated the shear of RC beams with ANN. Kim and Kim [23]
worked on the prediction of the relative crest settlement of
concrete-faced rock-fill dams analyzed using an artificial neural
network model. Caglar et al. [24] applied the neural network to
dynamic analysis of reinforced concrete buildings. Arslan [25]
predicted the tensional strength of RC beams by ANN and com-
pared it with building codes. Erdem [26] used ANN to predict
the moment capacity of RC slabs in fire. Takagi and Sugeno [27]
developed Fuzzy Inference Systems (FIS) and applied them in
modeling and controlling concepts. In addition, Jang introduced
ANFIS in his book [28]. Topçu and Saridemir [29] predicted
rubberized mortar properties using ANN and fuzzy logic. Bil-
gehan [30] used ANFIS and Neural Network (NN) models to
estimate critical buckling load.
In this paper, ANN and ANFIS are used in intelligent data
analysis in the prediction of the shear strength resistance of
RC beams. The layout of the paper is as follows. In Section 2,
empirical formulas of ACI and ICI concrete codes and ANN and
ANFIS models for prediction of the shear strength of RC beam
are discussed. Also, performances of the ANN and ANFIS models
are assessed in Section 3 and the results are compared with ICI
and ACI codes to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of
the models. Finally, some concluding remarks are addressed in
Section 4.
2. Prediction of shear strength of reinforce concrete beams
Shear failure is one of the most important concepts in con-
crete structural members. Shear failure is caused by shear
forces. RC members resist shear force using several mecha-
nisms. The shear failure is tolerated in RC beams by providing
web reinforcement. The web reinforcement usually takes the
form of vertical stirrups or the 45° bars that surround the lon-
gitudinal bars along the faces of the beam. The required shear
strength to be provided by the web reinforcement is usually
computed by formulas in concrete codes. The required area of
web reinforcement or spacing of the stirrups can be determined
based on the amount of predicted shear strength [19]. In this
paper, different methods, such as empirical codes and ANN and
ANFIS models, are applied to predict the shear strength of RC
members.
2.1. Empirical codes
The ACI and ICI empirical codes are different proposed
formulas that are used in the design of concrete structural
members. For a member subjected to shear and flexure only,
243
Table 1: ACI and ICI formulas for shear strength of RC beam.
Code Formula
√
f′
Vc = ( ρw VMuud ) bw d ≤ 0.3 fC′ bw d, Vu d

7
C
+ 120
7 Mu
≤1
ACI (N)
Av fy d α=90° Av fy d
Vs = S
(sin αs + cos αs ) −→ Vs = S
√
Vc = vc bw d, vc = 0.2φC fc , φc = 0.6
ICI (kg) α=90°
Vs =
Av fyd d
(sin αs + cos αs ) −→ Vs =
Av fyd d
S S
the ACI and ICI formulas are presented in Table 1 calculating
the concrete shear strength in the absence of axial force and
web reinforcement. For the presented formulas of Table 1, fC′
and fc are concrete compressive strength in MPa and kg/cm2 ,
respectively; ρw is the longitudinal steel ratio given by As /bw d;
Vu is factored shear force; Mu is factored bending moment
occurring simultaneously with Vu at the section considered; bw
is beam width (cm); d is effective depth of the beam (cm); Av
is shear reinforcement area (cm2 ); fy is yield strength of shear
reinforcement (kg/cm2 ); S is stirrups spacing (cm); and αs is
stirrups inclination angle.
2.2. ANN and ANFIS models
ANN and ANFIS models are also suggested to compare
with empirical formulas in the prediction of RC beams shear
strength. An introduction and different application of the ANN
model [10–26] and the ANFIS model [27–30] are presented in
the literature.
For application of ANN and ANFIS models in any field,
different input parameters should be considered. In this paper,
six important parameters are selected as input parameters for
the prediction of the shear strength of RC beams including:
concrete compressive strength (fc ), longitudinal reinforcement
volume (ρw ), shear span-to-depth ratio (S /d), transverse
reinforcement (ρl ), effective depth of the beam (d) and beam
width (bw ).
Furthermore, in ANN and ANFIS models, two sets of dataset,
named training and testing datasets, are used. The training
dataset is used to train the network, whereas the testing dataset
is selected to verify the accuracy of the trained models for the
prediction of the shear strength of RC beams.
Also, choosing the appropriate number of hidden neurons
and number of hidden layers are major parameters in obtaining
an accurate ANN model. In addition, the best selection of
activation function has a considerable effect on the ability of
the model. The number of hidden layers and number of nodes
in hidden layers are usually determined via trial and error
procedures or using suggested rules. For example, based on the
method suggested by Anderson and McNeill [31], the number
of upper bound processing nodes of the hidden layers can be
calculated by dividing the number of input–output pairs of the
training set by the total number of input and output nodes of
the network, multiplied by a scaling factor between five and ten.
Larger scaling factors are used for relatively noisy data [32].
The ANFIS is considered here as another method in
combining the advantages of FIS and ANN. ANFIS is a class of
adaptive network that is functionally equivalent to FIS. The
first-order Sugeno fuzzy is used because the consequent part of
the FIS is linear and the parameters can be estimated by a simple
least squares error method. ANFIS is an example of models
in which the shape parameters of the membership functions
of fuzzy premise variables, as well as the linear parameters
of the consequent part of fuzzy rules in a Takagi–Sugeno FIS,
are tuned using ANNs. ANFIS is a Sugeno type of FIS in which
244 J. Amani, R. Moeini / Scientia Iranica, Transactions A: Civil Engineering 19 (2012) 242–248

(a) ICI code. (b) ACI code.

Figure 1: Comparison between observed and empirical codes.

the problem of fine tuning membership functions of premise

variables is carried out by a feed-forward neural network and
which combines the advantages of both a neural network and
FIS [33].

3. Results and discussions

In this section, an experimental database is used to

investigate the accuracy of ACI and ICI codes, and train and
test the ANN and ANFIS models in the prediction of the shear
strength of RC beams. The results of the ANN and ANFIS
models are compared with ACI and ICI emprical codes, based on
calculating the error values, such as Mean Absolute Error (MAE)
and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). Also, the coefficient of
determination, and the R2 of the linear regression line between
the predicted values for models and codes are determined.
These three statistical parameters are used to compare the
performance of the various methods as follows:

 N Figure 2: Architecture of ANN model.
 (ti − yi )2

 i=1
RMSE = , (1) from codes are compared with measured experimental data.
N
Comparisons between observed (experimental) and predicted
N
shear strength are shown in Figure 1. It can be seen that the
(ti − yi )2

prediced shear strengths are more scattered from the observed
i=1
R2 = 1 −
N 
, (2) shear strengths.
 2 For construction of the ANN and ANFIS models, the 123
ti − ti
i=1 datasets are divided into two separate datasets randomly,
N
named training and testing datasets. 100 datasets are used
1  for training the network and the remaining 23 datasets are
MAE = |ti − yi | , (3)
N i=1 considered as testing datasets of the network. Figure 2 shows
the architecture of the final ANN model. Tables 2 and 3
where, ti and yi are the target and network output fot the ith show the range of different input–output parameters used for
output, ti is the average of target outputs, and N is the total training and testing datasets, respectively. Input parameters
number of events considered. The model that minimized the are selected, based on Bentz [34] and Bohigas [35] research.
error values (MAE and RMSE) and maximized R2 is selected as Various combinations of input parameters can be considered
the optimum network. in developing the ANN models, using experimental datasets,
To show the efficiency of the proposed methods, the leading to the construction of six types of architecture. At each
experimental datasets by Bentz [34] and Bohigas [35] are used step, one of the parameters is added to the network as the
and the shear strength of RC beams is calculated using all input parameter. It is shown that the network with all six input
proposed methods. Also, to evaluate the performance of the parameters has more accuracy and capability to predict the
ACI and ICI codes, values of the shear strength of RC beams shear strength of RC beams.
 J. Amani, R. Moeini / Scientia Iranica, Transactions A: Civil Engineering 19 (2012) 242–248 245

Table 2: Range of different input–output parameters for training data.

Parameter Training data (100 data set)

Min Average Max

Beam width (mm) 110 239.34 457

Beam depth (mm) 198 387.36 925
Concrete compressive strength (MPa) 25.7 64.455 125
Input parameters
Longitudinal reinforcement (%) 0.5 2.8171 5.8
Shear reinforcement (%) 0.33 0.8535 3.57
Shear span-to-depth 2.49 3.0346 5

Output parameter Shear strength (KN) 63.3 259.506 788

Table 3: Range of different input–output parameters for testing data.

Parameter Testing data (23 data set)

Min Average Max

Beam width (mm) 110 224.261 457

Beam depth (mm) 198 427.739 925
Concrete compressive strength (MPa) 21 58.8217 125
Input parameters
Longitudinal reinforcement (%) 0.75 2.5282 4.46
Shear reinforcement (%) 0.33 0.8847 3.43
Shear span-to-depth 2.5 2.9504 4
Output parameter Shear strength (KN) 93.6 242.939 721

For construction of ANN models, there is no theoretical

reason ever to use more than two hidden layers. For many
practical problems, there is no reason to use any more than
one hidden layer. Those problems that require two hidden
layers are only rarely encountered in real-life situations [36].
The number of hidden layers is considered equal to one to
improve the efficiency and compatibility of the model in
predicting and testing the accuracy of the new experimental
datasets faster and more easily, with a lower number of weights
and connections in the neurons. For selecting the number of
neurons in the hidden layer, the 19 models are constructed
using 2–20 neurons, respectively, and for each model, the
RMSE value is calculated. Figure 3 shows an optimum model is
obtained when 11 neurons are used in the hidden layer. Hence,
an ANN model with 6 input parameters, and 1 hidden layer with
11 neurons, based on the MLP/BP algorithm, is constructed.
To avoid over-training of the model, the network is trained
by initially performing with lower iterations. The number of
iterations is increased gradually (with an equal step), while the
Figure 3: Selection of number neurons in hidden layer.
process is stopped when the performance starts to drop. In this
way, the optimal ANN model is identified in 758 iterations.
Comparison results of the ANN model with experimental
results are shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 shows the comparison Table 4: Comparison results obtain using different models and codes.
between the prediction of the shear strength of the training and Method R2 RMSE MAE
testing data, as given by ICI, ACI codes and the ANN model. It is
ANN model (test) 0.9203 0.04340 0.03243
clear that the performance of the ANN MLP/BP model is much
ANFIS model (test) 0.9095 0.46253 0.03666
better than ACI and ICI codes. ICI code 0.81604 0.12305 0.07566
For the ANFIS model, the same as the ANN model, 100 data ACI code 0.7440 0.14516 0.08675
sets are used as training, and 23 data sets as testing data. After
training, all 100 data sets are used for testing the model to verify
the accuracy of the predicted values of shear strength. ANFIS
To show the superiority of proposed models, the RMSE, MAE
detects a function for mapping the input variables to the output
and R2 values for ANN and ANFIS models and ICI and ACI codes
layer. These predicted values are compared with observed data
to show the performance of the ANFIS model for the prediction are presented in Table 4. Comparison of the results indicates
of RC beam shear strength. Figure 6 shows the comparison that the ANN model with the MLP/BP algorithm has a higher
between observed and predicted values of the ANFIS model. value of R-square and a lower value of RMSE and MAE, so that
As can be seen from this figure, ANFIS has performed well in its performance is more accurate. Also, the performance of the
predicting the shear strength. Figure 7 shows the comparison ANN model is better than the ANFIS model and the two models
between the prediction of the shear strength of the training and perform a much better prediction, compared with ACI and ICI
testing data, as given by ICI, ACI codes and the ANFIS model. empirical codes.
246 J. Amani, R. Moeini / Scientia Iranica, Transactions A: Civil Engineering 19 (2012) 242–248

(a) Training set. (b) Testing set.

Figure 4: Plot of observed and predicted shear strength for ANN model.

(a) Training set. (b) Testing set.

Figure 5: Comparison between ICI, ACI codes and ANN model.

(a) Training set. (b) Testing set.

Figure 6: Plot of observed and predicted shear strength for ANFIS model.
 J. Amani, R. Moeini / Scientia Iranica, Transactions A: Civil Engineering 19 (2012) 242–248
(a) Training set.
Figure 7: Comparison between ICI, ACI codes and ANFIS model.
4. Conclusions
The main goal of the present study is to design and develop
ANN and ANFIS models for estimating RC beam shear strength.
The performances of the models were evaluated and the re-
sults were compared with empirical ICI and ACI concrete codes.
Several empirical formulas were used for computing the shear
strength of RC beams in concrete codes. The models were ap-
plied in the prediction of the shear resistance strength of RC
beams. Results show that the ANN model with the MLP/BP al-
gorithm provided a better prediction of shear strength than the
ANFIS model. Also, ANN and ANFIS models are more accurate
than empirical ACI and ICI codes. In addition, the predictions
of ANN model were distributed around experimental results,
while ICI and ACI were more scattered from experimental re-
sults, indicating that they predominately under-estimate the
shear stength.
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Jafar Amani was born in Ardabil, Iran, in 1985. He received his B.S. degree
from the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili
(UMA), Iran, in 2007, and his M.S. degree, honors, in Structural and Hydraulic
Engineering, in 2009, from Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST),
where he is currently a Ph.D. degree student of Civil Engineering. He is also
a member of the academic staff at Alaodoleh Semnani Institute of Higher
Education (ASIHE).
He is author/coauthor of 5 research articles that have been published in
international journals and 9 refereed conference papers. His research interests
include: numerical modeling and refinement procedures focused on meshless
and finite element methods and their applications in elasticity problems,
and crack growth and fracture mechanics in concrete structures. He also has
experience in the application of artificial neural networks, adaptive neuro-
fuzzy inference systems and the cellular automata approach in structural and
hydraulic problems.
Ramtin Moeini was born in Isfahan, Iran, in 1981. He received his B.S. degree
from the Civil Engineering Department at Isfahan University of Technology
(IUT) in 2002 and his M.S. degree, honors, from the Civil Engineering
Department of Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in 2007, where
he is currently a Ph.D. student of Civil Engineering. He is also a member of the
academic staff at Alaodoleh Semnani Institute of Higher Education (ASIHE). He is
author/coauthor of 9 research articles in international journals and 7 conference
papers.