Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

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Measurement
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/measurement

Predicting the compressive strength of concrete containing metakaolin with

different properties using ANN
M.J. Moradi a , M. Khaleghi b , J. Salimi c , V. Farhangi d , A.M. Ramezanianpour e ,∗
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
b
Department of Civil engineering, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran
c
School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran
d
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA
e
School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The advantages of using Metakaolin (MK) as a supplementary cementitious material have led this highly active
Concrete pozzolan to be widely used in the concrete industry. Awareness of the parameters affecting the mechanical
Metakaolin properties of concrete containing MK, determining the effectiveness of each parameter, and also the ability to
Mechanical property
estimate the compressive strength of concrete containing MK can pave the way for further implementation of
Neural network
this type of concrete. In the present paper, ANN models for estimating the compressive strength of concretes
Empirical equation
containing MK with various properties have been developed based on the available experimental results. The
results of sensitivity analysis indicated that the compressive strength of concrete containing MK is mostly
influenced by its specific surface area, and SiO2 /Al2 O3 ratio. The predicted results are in good agreement with
the experimental ones. An empirical equation is proposed to determine the 28-day compressive strength of
concrete containing MK.

1. Introduction
The increasing consumption of concrete in the world, environmental
issues and the need for optimal utilization of materials, and the positive
effects of using supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) on the
properties of concrete have led to the widespread use of these materials
in the concrete industry. Metakaolin is a relatively new SCM obtained
by heating pure kaolin at a temperature ranging between 500 ◦ C
and 800 ◦ C. This SCM is used to make high performance concrete
and also improve the mechanical properties along with durability of
conventional concrete [1].
Compressive strength can be deemed as the most important me-
chanical property of concrete, and this parameter is generally used
to estimate some other concrete properties; on the other hand, the
design of concrete structures is mostly based on concrete’s compressive
strength. The effect of using metakaolin on the compressive strength
of concrete has been studied by several researchers. In the studies by
Zhang and Malhotra [2], Wild et al. [3], Brooks and Johari [4], Ding
and Li [5], Khatib and Hibbert [6], Poon et al. [7], Kim et al. [8],
Khatib [9], Güneyisi et al. [10], Muthupriya et al. [11], Ramezanian-
pour and Jovein [12], Dubey et al. [13], an increase in the compressive
strength of concrete has been observed with the use of MK, whereas
in the study of Vejmelková et al. [14] and Salimi et al. [15] adding
MK reduced the compressive strength of concrete. These discrepancies
are mainly due to the fact that the compressive strength of con-
crete containing MK depends on several factors, including the water
to cementitious materials ratio of concrete, the specific surface area
of MK, its pozzolanic activity, the replacement level of metakaolin,
and the mixing composition [15]. Among these parameters, the poz-
zolanic activity of MK, which is related to its physical and chemical
characteristics, has received insufficient attention.
In general, knowing the impact of each of these parameters on
the compressive strength of concrete containing metakaolin can be
extremely useful. Assessment of the compressive strength dependency
on each factor requires the use of complex numerical calculations,
which has been resolved thanks to computers. One of the computational
methods for determining the general relationship between abundant
and complex information is the artificial neural network (ANN). An
ANN can model almost any complex relationship between the inputs
and outputs. One of the most important types of neural networks
in engineering applications is the multi-layer perceptron (MLP) net-
work [16,17]. Inputs given from the outside to the neural network are
applied to a group of neurons arranged in one or two layers. These

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ramezanian@ut.ac.ir (A.M. Ramezanianpour).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2021.109790
Received 4 January 2021; Received in revised form 13 May 2021; Accepted 17 June 2021
Available online 25 June 2021
0263-2241/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

parameters are available [19]. Developing accurate and reliable models

Nomenclature
to predict the compressive strength of concrete can be time-saving and
𝐴 Air-entraining agent cost-effective by providing designers and structural engineers with vital
𝐴𝑁𝑁 Artificial neural network data. Thus, accurate and early-stage prediction of concrete strength is
𝐵 Binder a critical issue in concrete construction [20].
So far, several research studies have been carried out to estimate
𝐵𝐹 𝑎 Bottom fly ash
the compressive strength of ordinary concrete using an artificial neural
𝐶 Cement
network. In Table 1, some of these studies along with the characteristics
𝐶𝐴 Coarse aggregates
of the used neural networks are presented. In this regard, parameters
𝐶𝐴𝑅𝑇 Classification and regression tree such as the cement content, water content, and the amount of aggre-
𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑥 Maximum size of aggregates gates were considered as network inputs according to the conducted
𝐷𝑚𝑖𝑛 Minimum size of aggregates research studies.
𝐷𝑇 Decision trees A computational effort to predict the compressive strength of mortar
𝐷𝑊 𝑇 Discrete wavelet transform containing MK was conducted by Saridemir [21]. The results showed
𝐹𝐴 Fine aggregates that neural networks and fuzzy logic systems have a great capacity
𝐹𝑎 Fly ash for predicting the compressive strength of mortars containing MK. A
𝐹𝐿 Fuzzy logic hybrid support vector regression model to predict the compressive
𝐺𝐴 Genetic algorithm strength and rapid chloride penetration test results of concrete con-
𝐺𝐸𝑃 Gene expression programming taining metakaolin were developed by Gilan et al. [22]. The results
indicated that the hybrid model has strong potential to predict material
𝐺𝐺𝐵𝑆 Ground granulated blast furnace slag
properties with a high degree of accuracy and robustness. Hosseinpour
𝐺𝑂𝑇 Genetic operation trees
et al. [23] developed a stepwise regression model to estimate the com-
𝐺𝑊 𝑃 𝑂𝑇 Genetic weighted pyramid operation tree
pressive strength of MK-based mortar at different ages using five input
𝐻𝑃 𝐶 High performance concrete parameters. Besides, a formula was proposed to predict the compressive
𝐻𝑆𝐶 High strength concrete strength of mortars.
𝐿𝑃 Limestone powder Many research studies have been conducted using artificial intel-
𝐿𝑅 Linear regression ligence (AI) to determine the effect of SCMs such as fly ash, blast
𝑀𝐾 Metakaolin furnace slag, metakaolin, silica fume, and nano-silica on the mechanical
𝑀𝐿𝑅 Multi-logistic model properties of concrete. However, a comprehensive study is essential
𝑀𝑃 Marble powders to evaluate the effect of the characteristics of the used SCM on the
𝑀𝑆 Microsilica mechanical properties of concrete. Although it has been shown that
𝑁𝐿𝑅 Multiple nonlinear regression the properties of SCMs influence their effects on various properties
of concrete, limited research has been done to identify the extent
𝑁𝑆 Nanosilica
to which each character is influential and their relative significance.
𝑁𝑆𝐶 Non-slump concrete
The studies on mechanical properties of different concrete containing
𝑂𝑃 𝐶 Ordinary Portland concrete
various SCMs using AI are summarized in Table 2. In this table, the
𝑃 Powder input is the features that are selected to train the AI models. It can
𝑃𝐹𝐴 Pulverized fuel ash be seen that the majority of these researches developed the prediction
𝑅𝐹 Random forest models based on the amount of the main ingredients of concrete and
𝑅𝐻𝐴 Rice husk ash replacement level of SCMs. In these studies, the effects of the physical
𝑆𝐴 Specific area and chemical characteristics of SCMs have not been considered. The
𝑆𝐶𝐶 Self-consolidating concrete only study that considered the effect of SCM’s characteristic was by
𝑆𝐶𝑀 Supplementary cementitious material Topcu and Saridemir [33] which considered the CaO percentage as an
𝑆𝐹 Silica fume input parameter.
𝑆𝑃 Super plasticizer Since the reactivity of MK as a pozzolanic material depends on its
physical and chemical characteristics, and the mechanical properties
𝑆𝑅 Surface resistivity
of concrete containing MK is dependent on metakaolin’s reactivity,
𝑆𝑉 𝑀 Support vector machine
the effects of the physical and chemical properties of MK on concrete
𝑉 𝑀𝐴 Viscosity modify admixture
properties is required to be comprehensively investigated. Similarly,
𝑊 Water there is no universal optimum replacement level for MK, and different
𝑊 𝑅𝐴 Water reducing agent researchers have reported different replacement levels as optimum for
𝑤𝑆𝑉 𝑀 Weighted support vector machines obtaining the maximum compressive strengths in concrete, mortar, and
𝑍 Zeolite paste. This shows that the optimum replacement level is dependent on
various factors, especially the properties of the used MK. Moreover, the
antithesis results of researches regarding the mechanical properties of
concrete containing MK indicate that there are some other important
inputs are aggregated with specific weights and are fed to each neuron factors besides the MK replacement level which strongly affect the
function, which involves processing the weighted sum of inputs applied mechanical properties of MK concrete. It has been reported that the
to the neuron and sending the output of the neuron to the output optimum percentage is dependent on the cement type and content, type
layer [18]. Using the error-back propagation algorithm, the accuracy and dosage of admixtures, and also on the age of testing [69]. However,
of responses can be further enhanced. The neural network uses the limitations involving experimental tests such as cost, time, and lack of
results of previous experiments to estimate the effective parameters on access to materials with different characteristics have resulted in a lack
compressive strength. By doing this, the neural network can be trained of a comprehensive study.
with an ample amount of experimental results. In this way, the network The purpose of this study was to predict the compressive strength
is able to predict the expected output with some error if its input of concrete containing MK using an artificial neural network with a

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M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

Table 1
Characteristics of ANN to predict compressive strength in OPC.
Name Dataset type No. of sample No. of inputs No. of hidden layers No. of neuron in 1st layer Number of neuron in 2nd layer Ref.
Shi et. al. L.R. 216 9 2 23 6 [24]
Ozcan et. al. EXP. 240 6 1 11 – [25]
Yeh L.R. 200 7 1 6 – [26]
Khashman and Akpinar L.R. 1030 9 1 6 – [27]
Kostic and Vasovic EXP. 75 3 1 6 – [28]
Guang and Zong EXP. 165 11 1 7 – [10]
Chopra et. al. L.R. 49 4 1 50 – [29]
Atici EXP. 27 2 to 5 1 4,5,6 – [30]
Saridemir L.R. 195 8 1 10 – [31]
Lin and Wu L.R. 482 7 1 7 – [32]

L.R.: Literature Review, EXP.: Experimental.

Table 2
Review of research on pozzolanic concrete based on AI.
Name Network type Concrete type Pozzolan Input Ref.
Kasperkiewicz et al. ANN HPC SF C, W, CA, FA, SF, SP [34]
Yeh ANN HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP [26]
Sebastia et al. ANN OPC Fa C, W, Fa, (CA+FA), SP [35]
Yeh ANN OPC Fa C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP [36]
Pala et al. ANN OPC Fa and SF B, W, CA, FA, Fa, SF, WRA, Age [37]
Topcu and Saridemir ANN and FL OPC Fa C, W, CA, FA, WRA, Fa, CaO [33]
Prasad et al. ANN SCC and HPC Fa C, W/C, W/P, CA/P, FA/P, WRA/P, [38]
VMA/P,Fa/B,MS/B
Bilim et al. ANN OPC GGBS C, W, (CA+FA), GGBS, SP, Age [39]
Sarıdemir ANN OPC MK and SF C, W, CA, FA, MK, SF, SP, Age [31]
Yeh and Lien GOT HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age, W/C, W/B, [40]
W/(C+Fa+SL+CA+FA),(CA+FA)/B
Baykasoglu et al. GEP HSC Fa W/B, W, FA, Fa, A, SP [41]
Sarıdemir FL and ANN OPC GGBS C, W, (CA+FA), GGBS, Age [21]
Sobhani et al. ANN and ANFIS NSC SF C, W, CA, FA, W/B, SF, Filler [42]
Uysal and Tanyildizi ANN SCC Fa and LP C, Fa, LP, MP, (CA+FA), SP, Unit weight, Water [43]
absorption
Chou et al. ANN HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [44]
Siddique et al. ANN SCC Fa C, W, CA, FA, Fa, BFa, W/P, SP [45]
Cheng et al. wSVM HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [46]
Mousavi et al. GEP HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [47]
Cheng et al. GWPOT HPC Fa C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [46]
Khan ANN HPC PFA and SF C, W, CA, FA, PFA, Fa, SP, Age [48]
Khan ANN HPC MS and SF C, W, CA, FA, MS, Fa, SP, Age [49]
Gilan et al. ANFIS OPC MK C, W, MK, CA, FA, Age, SR [22]
Ahmadi-Nedushan ANN HPC Fa and SF W/B, W, FA/(CA+FA), Fa/B, A, SP [50]
Aggarwal et al. FL and ANN HSC Fa C, W, CA, FA, Fa, SF, SP, fiber, aspect ratio [51]
Erdal DT HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [52]
Erdal et al. DWT HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [53]
Chou et al. ANN, SVM, CART, LR HPC GGBS, Fa, SF, MK (C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age) (C, W, CA, FA, [20]
SF, SP, WRA, A, Age) (B, W, CA, FA, Fa, SF, WRA,
Age) (B, W, FA, Fa, SP, A) (C, W, CA, FA, MK,
Age)
Rebouh et al. GA and ANN OPC natural pozzolan B, W/B, Pozzolan ratio, SP, CA, FA, Age [54]
Zhang and Zhao ANN UHPC Fa and SF C, W, CA, FA, Fa, SF, SP, W/C, (FA+CA)/C, [55]
FA/(FA+CA), D𝑚𝑎𝑥 -D𝑚𝑖𝑛
Yu et al. SVM HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [56]
Bui et al. ANN HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [57]
Behnood and Golafshani ANN OPC SF B, W/B, SF/B, CA/(CA+FA), CA/B, SP/B, D𝑚 𝑎𝑥, [58]
Age
Nasr et al. ANN SCC NS C, Z, NS, slump flow, V-funnel flow, Age [59]
Han et al. RF HPC Fa and GGBS C, W, CA, FA, Fa, GGBS, SP, Age [60]
Azimi-Pour et al. SVM SCC Fa C, W/C ,W/P, W/B, CA/P, FA/P, WRA/P, SP/P, [61]
Fa/B, MS/B
Golafshani et al. ANN and ANFIS OPC and HPC GGBS and Fa C, W, CA, FA, GGBS, Fa, SP, Age [62]
Elemam et al. ANN SCC Fa, SF, and LP P, Fa, SF, LP, W/P, SP [63]
Kandiri et al. ANN OPC GGBS C, W, CA, FA, GGBS, Activity index, Age [64]
Roshani et al. ANN OPC Fa C, W, CA, FA, Fa, SiO2 [65]
Iqtidar et al. ANN, ANFIS, NLR OPC RHA C, W, CA, FA, RHA, SP, Age [66]
Serraye et al. ANN SCC SF B, W/B, SF, CA, FA, SP, Age [67]
Faraj et al. LR, NLR, MLR SCC NS B, W/B, NS, CA, FA, SP, Age [68]

The Nomenclature is listed in 1.

backpropagation algorithm considering the parameters including phys-
ical and chemical, influencing the compressive strength of MK concrete,
including the physical and chemical characteristics of MK. The lim-
itations of experimental tests were overcome by considering a large
number of data with different specifications as an input of ANN. The
network was trained using results for 105 samples containing MK for 7-
day compressive strength and 134 samples for the 28-day compressive
strength. The results obtained from the network were compared with
the experimental results and the error rate was determined. Moreover,
a simple empirical equation has been proposed to predict the 28-day

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M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

compressive strength of MK concrete. In this paper, methods for the Table 3

Statistical parameters for the concrete containing MK dataset (7-day compressive
practical use of neural networks in engineering are presented, and also
strength model).
soft computing technique is used to generalize the obtained results to
Attribute Unit Min Max Average Standard
new and unknown conditions. deviation
Cement kg/m3 243 528 378.1 61.2
2. Development of the artificial neural network Metakaolin kg/m3 9.75 141 49.8 24
Water kg/m3 135 234 172.8 24.6
One of the merits of applying neural networks is that it can make Coarse aggregate kg/m3 765 1454 1042.8 153.5
models easy to use and more accurate from complex natural systems Fine aggregate kg/m3 518 1017.5 770.2 120.4
MK specific area m2 /kg 370 25 400 8011.8 6115
with large inputs [70]. Neural networks consist of simple operating SiO2 % 47 76.73 57.6 8.7
elements that work in parallel. These systems are information manager Al2 O3 % 17.4 45.8 35 9.4
models inspired by the human brain. In nature, the performance of 7-day compressive MPa 21.9 95 51.2 16.7
neural networks is determined according to the interconnections within strength
the components [71,72]. Therefore, it is possible to construct an artifi-
cial structure in accordance with natural networks and determine the Table 4
relationship between its components by adjusting the values of each Statistical parameters for the concrete containing MK dataset (28-day compressive
connection, as the weight of the connection. After training the neural strength model).
network, applying a particular input leads to a specific output. The most Attribute Unit Min Max Average Standard
deviation
important part of training is minimizing errors. This is achievable by
changing the weights during the learning step and continuing this until Cement kg/m3 243 528 379.2 55.82
Metakaolin kg/m3 9.75 141 49.21 23.2
the error function, e.g., the mean square error, will become less than
Water kg/m3 126 234 170.3 23.8
the specified limit. The error is determined as follows: Coarse aggregate kg/m3 580 1454 1009.8 183.67
Fine aggregate kg/m3 518 1172 792.6 157.7
1 ∑(
𝑁
)2 MK specific area m2 /kg 370 25 400 7420 6195
𝑀𝑆𝐸 = 𝑦 − 𝑦̂𝑖 (1)
𝑁 𝑖=1 𝑖 SiO2 % 47 78.5 58.5 10.2
Al2 O3 % 11.5 45.8 33.1 11.3
where N denotes the number of samples, 𝑦𝑖 and 𝑦̂ are the target and 28-day compressive MPa 31.1 111.2 63 17.5
predicted results, respectively. This is an iterative procedure by initial- strength
izing the value of 𝑤, estimating 𝑦, ̂ and computing the corresponding
MSE. In the initial step, the error is high because weights are selected
randomly. The challenge of network learning is to find the weights
(CA), and fine aggregates (FA). Since metakaolin have widely varying
that result in the minimum error for all data sets. In most artificial
chemical and physical characteristic owing to differences in their types
networks, the number of weights is high, and therefore there is no
and sources, the specific area of MK (SA) and its SiO2 and Al2 O3
direct method to find the weights. Estimating weights by trial and error
content were also considered as inputs. The dataset also included
would require a great deal of time and effort. The gradient descent
information about the age of the tested specimens. It should be noted
approach is an effective method to detect the least sets of the error more
that because of the variety of the type of samples used to measure
promptly within the network training procedure. Gradient descent, as
the compressive strength, during the construction of the network, the
the name implies, uses the error gradient to descend the error [73].
compressive strengths were converted to 150 × 150 × 150 mm standard
The error is related to the output of the network, and it depends on
mould using the conversion factors reported by Elwell and Fu [78].
the weighted output of the hidden neurons and the weights. Thus,
To select the data for constructing the dataset, research studies which
the chain rule of differentiation can be extended from error to the
𝜕𝐸 reported the following information were considered:
weight of the first layer, 𝜕𝑤 . This method is called backpropagation
𝑛𝑚 1- Detailed mix proportions of concrete
and was first proposed by Werbos [74] and then by Rumelhart [75]. 2- The chemical composition of MK
Backpropagation is a gradient descent algorithm in which the network 3- Specific area of MK
weights move in the opposite direction to the performance function 4- The 7-day and/or 28-day compressive strength of concrete.
slope. It was ensured that the dataset formed a fairly representative group
The neural network is developed based on the following assump- containing all the vital parameters that influence the behavior of MK
tions: in concrete. Tables 3 and 4 present statistical parameters for the 28-
1- Processing of information occurs in simple members called neu- day and 7-day compressive strength dataset, respectively. The values
rons, gathered in Tables 3 and 4 can provide a general idea about the typical
2- Signals are passed neuron over connection links, mixture proportions used in concrete containing MK. As can be seen,
3- Every connection has an associated weight. the 7 and 28-day concrete strength range from 21.9 to 95 MPa, and
4- Each neuron transmits inputs from the activation function and 31.1 to 112.2 MPa, respectively, which indicate the presence of data
determines the outputs. pertaining to high strength concrete in the samples. Figs. 1 and 2 show
A neural network is known based on its architecture, the learning the histogram of the input and output variables used for developing the
algorithm, and the activation function. Using neural networks reduces networks.
the number of experiments and saves time [76,77].
2.2. Modeling the network
2.1. Dataset
In general, modeling is the process of presenting a real-world phe-
Results reported in previous studies have been used to estimate nomenon or object as a set of mathematical expressions [70]. It is
the compressive strength of concrete containing MK. A comprehensive important to determine the optimum configuration of the network
database including 105 and 134 distinctive experimental records of the which provides a well-set and high accuracy at the same time. Owing
compressive strength of concretes containing MK was collected from to the fact that there is no equation to determine the number of hidden
the literature. The collected dataset contained information about the layers and the number of neurons located on each layer, the number
amounts of cement (C), metakaolin (MK), water (W), coarse aggregates of optimal hidden layers and neurons was determined with trial and

4
M.J. Moradi et al.
Fig. 1. The histograms of input and the output parameters for 7-day compressive strength.
error. Various structures with different numbers of neurons in each
layer have been tested and the best architecture was chosen as the
proposed ANN model. The network’s MSE value was computed for
each number of neurons in the hidden layer, while other parameters
of the network were kept constant. Fig. 3 illustrates the performance
of the network based on MSE for all data as a function of number of
neurons. Each of the ANN models (with a particular number of neurons
up to 27) was iterated 20 times and their mean was used to determine
the accuracy of a model. The network with a single hidden layer
containing 18 and 6 neurons for 7 and 28-day compressive strength
had the best performance. The optimal architecture of the networks
is shown in Fig. 4. The database features were linearly normalized in
the range of [0,1] to speed up the learning procedure and leads to
faster convergence [79–82]. This linear transformation preserves all
the relationships of the initial database [71]. The calculations were
performed in MATLAB mathematical software (R2018a) using the ANN
toolbox. In order to train the network, the Levenberg–Marquardt (LM)
algorithm was used due to its suitable convergence, high precision, and
less time consumption [23,83,84]. This algorithm randomly divided
the data into three parts, 70% for training, 15% for validation, and
15% for test. The activation functions in the hidden and output layer
were chosen as TANSIG (Eq. (2)) and PURELIN (Eq. (3)), respectively.
The learning process ended whenever the desired performance of the
network was accomplished.
2
𝑦 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑔(𝑥) = ( ) −1
1 + 𝑒−2𝑥
𝑦 = 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛(𝑥) = 𝑥
Measurement 183 (2021) 109790
2.3. ANN performance
The compressive strength of concrete containing MK at 7 and 28-
day can be predicted once the network is trained. In addition, the
complex relation between the input parameters can be explained using
the network. The performance of the networks in terms of estimating
the compressive strength is shown in Fig. 5. The best validation perfor-
mance was obtained as 0.0065 at the 6th epoch for 7-day, and 0.0049
at the 26th epoch for 28-day compressive strength. The quality of the
estimation as a function of the coefficient of determination, R, for all
data is shown in Fig. 6, indicating the correlation between the target
(experimental data) and the ANN output. The train, validation and test
dataset are obvious in Fig. 6. The overall response with R close to 1
verified that the network calculated the results with good accuracy.
3. Results and discussion
In order to predict the compressive strength of concrete contain-
ing MK, two separate networks were trained and their performance
was evaluated. The comparison of the experimental results for 7 and
28-day compressive strength of specimens with the predicted results
based on the ANN is shown in Fig. 7. As can be seen, the networks
could predict the experimental results with suitable accuracy which is
sufficient in practical use. The statistical error values for the predicted
(2) compressive strength obtained from training and testing of the ANN
model were reported as root mean square error (RMSE), Nash–Sutcliffe
efficiency (NSE) coefficient, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE),
(3) and correlation coefficient (R). These metrics can be computed using
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M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

Fig. 2. The histograms of input and the output parameters for 28-day compressive strength.

Fig. 3. The network’s MSE error for different neuron numbers.

Eq. (4). Table 5 compares these metrics (including MSE) based on close to the experimental values. This further confirms the suitability
all data points obtained from the networks. The ideal value for all of the proposed ANN model. Besides, Tables 5 shows the accuracy of
statistical parameters (except for NSE and R) is zero while the ideal the network for unscaled data.
value for NSE and R is one. RMSE indicates the deviation between the √
predicted values and the experimental ones, and MAPE reflects both ∑ ∑
(𝑦̂ − 𝑦)2 (𝑦̂ − 𝑦)2
the prediction error and the ratio of the error to the experimental 𝑅𝑀𝑆𝐸 = 𝑁𝑆𝐸 = 1 − ∑
𝑁 (𝑦̄ − 𝑦)2
value [85]. NSE is used to evaluate the predictive capability of the ∑ (4)
100 ∑ | 𝑦̄ − 𝑦 | ̄
(𝑦̂ − 𝑦)(𝑦
̂ − 𝑦) ̄
model. The statistical indicators in Tables 5 demonstrate that the 𝑀𝐴𝑃 𝐸 = | | 𝑅= √
| 𝑦 | ∑ √∑
estimated compressive strengths using the ANN network were fairly
𝑁 | | ̄
(𝑦̂ − 𝑦)
̂ 2 (𝑦 − 𝑦)̄2

6
M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

Fig. 4. The architecture of the proposed networks.

Fig. 5. The performance of the proposed networks.

Fig. 6. The regression of the proposed networks.

7
M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

Fig. 7. The comparison of the predicted result and experimental data.

Fig. 8. Stability of compressive strength prediction for inputs parameters.

Table 5
Comparison of five statistical indicators to evaluate the accuracy of the network (unscaled data accuracy).
Output Dataset MSE RMSE NSE MAPE R
Train data 0.0008 (4.54) 0.0282 (2.13) 0.9847 (0.9847) 10.74 (3.48) 0.9939 (0.9939)
Validation data 0.0066 (35.15) 0.0812 (5.93) 0.8567 (0.8567) 19.39 (7.89) 0.9515 (0.9515)
7-day compressive strength
Test data 0.0029 (15.62) 0.0538 (3.95) 0.9342 (0.9342) 15.1 (6.97) 0.9664 (0.9644)
All data 0.0020 (10.89) 0.0450 (3.30) 0.9612 (0.9612) 12.72 (4.68) 0.9813 (0.9813)
Train data 0.0004 (3.73) 0.02 (1.93) 0.9867 (0.9867) 6.54 (2.40) 0.9924 (0.9924)
Validation data 0.0049 (32.02) 0.07 (5.66) 0.9118 (0.9118) 12.67 (5.75) 0.9738 (0.9738)
28-day compressive strength
Test data 0.0047 (24.94) 0.0685 (4.99) 0.9343 (0.9343) 13.61 (6.75) 0.9597 (0.9597)
All data 0.0017 (11.12) 0.0412 (3.33) 0.9639 (0.9639) 8.51 (3.55) 0.9821 (0.9821)

where, 𝑦 and 𝑦̂ are the target and predicted values, and the 𝑦̄ and 𝑦̄̂ 3.2. Sensitivity analysis
parameters are the averages of the target and the predicted values,
respectively. As discussed earlier in Section 2, the weight of each neuron indicates
its importance. The Garson’s factor [86] was used to evaluate the
3.1. Stability analysis relative importance of the parameters in the network. The equation
provided for the network with a single hidden layer is:
The ratio of the predicted to experimental result versus the affecting ( )
∑𝐿 𝑤𝑖𝑗
parameters which indicate the stability in predicting the compressive 𝑗=1 ∑𝑁 𝑣𝑗𝑘
𝑟=1 𝑤𝑟𝑗
strength are shown in Fig. 8. The affecting parameters, which were 𝑄𝑖𝑘 = ( ) (5)
∑𝑁 ∑𝐿 𝑤𝑖𝑗
normalized in the [0 , 1] domain due to their large variation are listed 𝑖=1 ∑
𝑗=1 𝑁 𝑣 𝑗𝑘
𝑟=1 𝑤𝑟𝑗
in Tables 3 and 4. The variation of data about the horizontal line
∑
starting from the ratio of 1 (the bold line in black color) shows the where 𝑁 𝑟=1 𝑤𝑟𝑗 is the sum of the connection weights between the N
stability of parameters, and the closer the data to this line, the more input neurons and the hidden neuron j, and 𝑣𝑗𝑘 is the connection weight
stability in parameters. As it is obvious in Fig. 8, the values of 28-day between the hidden neuron j and the output neuron k [87]. Fig. 9 illus-
compressive strength were more stable. However, the network could trates the algorithm to determine the relative importance. The results of
predict the results with acceptable accuracy for both ages. sensitivity analysis are plotted in Fig. 10. As can be seen, almost all the

8
M.J. Moradi et al.
Fig. 9. Schematic presentation of the Garson’s algorithm.
parameters had a similar influence on the resulted compressive strength
at both ages. Besides, as no parameter had relatively low effectiveness,
it can be concluded that no irrelevant or extra parameters have been
chosen. Excessive parameters do not contribute additional information,
and they may lead to degradation in the performance of the learning
algorithm [88]. Nevertheless, the aggregates, especially the finer ones,
had an important role in the early age strength of concrete containing
MK. For the 28-day compressive strength, the most effective parameter
was the specific area of MK which is related to its reactivity. Besides,
the effectiveness of SiO2 and Al2 O3 , which are responsible for the
pozzolanic reaction, is more obvious in early age compressive strength.
As can be seen, the effect of the physical and chemical properties of
pozzolan on the strength of concrete cannot be ignored. Furthermore,
the effect of MK replacement level on the 7-day compressive strength
is more significant than the 28-day compressive strength, which is in
accordance with the results of Justice and Kurtis [89], and Zhang and
Malhotra [2], which showed the high reactivity of MK at early ages.
This highly reactive MK causes more pozzolanic reactions to occur in
concrete which results in a higher early strength [90]. Besides, the
filling effect of MK and its influence on accelerating the hydration
of Portland cement is more dominant at early ages [3]. It has been
shown that the specific surface of MK has a significant role in governing
the extent these mechanisms take place [15,69,91–95]. It could be
argued that the efficiency of MK in compressive strength enhancement
is dependent on its properties and the age of concrete.
3.3. Comparison between ANN and GMDH
As for studying the ANN model’s performance compared to other
approaches of soft computing, the gleaned outcomes were compared
with Group method of data handling (GMDH) model. This method
was developed by Ivakhnenko and Ivakhnenko [96] as a multivariate
analysis technique to identify and model the complex systems, with-
out first-hand knowledge. The GMDH model is capable of cognitive
learning and generating functions such as polynomial models to reduce
the minimum error within the predicted and output values [97–99].
The structure of a GMDH model is comparable to ANN, although
neurons’ number along with the hidden layers are unidentified and
will be specified within the process of training. In this regard, the
structure and topology of the network is insignificantly influenced by
human intervention, and the network’s structure is progressively self-
organized. Volterra polynomial series delineates the connections within
the input and output parameters, as follows:
∑
𝑚 ∑
𝑚 ∑
𝑚 ∑
𝑚 ∑
𝑚 ∑
𝑚 be seen, an increase in the specific area of MK particles in C30 mixture
𝑦̄ = 𝑤0 + 𝑤𝑖 𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑤𝑖𝑗 𝑥𝑖 𝑥𝑗 + 𝑤𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝑥𝑖 𝑥𝑗 𝑥𝑘 + ⋯
𝑖=1 𝑖=1 𝑗=1 𝑖=1 𝑗=1 𝑘=1
where 𝑥 stands for the input variables vector, 𝑤 is the vector of
weights or coefficients, and the bar sign shows the predicted output.
Measurement 183 (2021) 109790
Applying the GMDH model, the partial quadratic polynomial is used
only two variables to approximate the Volterra series. The polynomial’s
mathematical function is expressed below:
𝑦 = 𝑤0 + 𝑤1 𝑥1 + 𝑤2 𝑥2 + 𝑤3 𝑥21 + 𝑤4 𝑥22 + 𝑤5 𝑥1 𝑥2 (7)
The main function of the GMDH algorithm is to specify the unknown
coefficients in the Volterra series by reducing the squared sum of differ-
ences within the estimated and real output values. The 𝑤𝑖 coefficients
are solved using regression techniques for each pair of input variables,
𝑥𝑖 and 𝑥𝑗 .
The prediction results of the GMDH models are presented in Figs. 11
and 12 for 7-day and 28-day compressive strength, respectively. The
regression of ANN and comparison the ANN output with experimental
results are presented in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively. Moreover, Table 6
summarizes the statistical parameters for GMDH model with respect to
the normalized and unscaled current experimental dataset. Numbers in
parenthesis indicates the accuracy of the model based on the unscaled
data.
3.4. Validation of ANN model
Soft computing tools have been utilized as powerful computational
methods to solve complex problems especially in the engineering field,
and also can be used for simulating, evaluating, and approximat-
ing with high accuracy. The accuracy of the model to produce new
results based on new input parameters, i.e., generalization, should
be determined according to the proven facts or theoretical results.
Generalization of the ANN is its ability to handle unseen data.
As the aim of this study was to estimate the compressive strength of
concrete containing MK with various chemical and physical character-
istics, the MK replacement level, its specific area, and the SiO2 /Al2 O3
ratio were considered as variables, and the variation in 28-day compres-
sive strength due to changes in these parameters was determined. The
other independent variables in the input layer were chosen to be around
their median in order to gain a sufficient variety of results. Using
network results, a wide range of concrete mixtures can be assessed.
The assumed mix design is listed in Table 7. The W/(C+MK) ratio was
presumed to be 0.5 and the MK replacement level was up to 25%.
Also, in order to determine the effect of SiO2 and Al2 O3 on the 28-day
compressive strength, the specific area of MK particles was assumed
to be 12 000 m2 /kg. It should be mentioned that all these simulations
have been conducted in the vicinity of the experimentally investigated
domain, which is only possible using neural networks. The results of
this section will be compared with previous experimental results.
The reaction of pozzolanic materials with calcium hydroxide (CH)
released during cement hydration causes the formation of calcium
silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and stratlingite (C2 ASH8 ). The elimination of
calcium hydroxide and the formation of extra C-S-H are the keys to
increasing compressive strength and durability [69]. Crystals of CH
typically concentrate in the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) located
between aggregate and paste fractions which can lead to localized areas
of increased porosity and lower strength [3]. MK can refine the ITZ
resulting in increasing strength.
The mechanical properties of concrete containing MK are under
the influence of the physical and chemical characteristics of MK. The
specific surface of MK particles and the amount of SiO2 and Al2 O3 ,
are of special importance among the physical and chemical properties,
respectively. It has been shown that the surface area of MK greatly
influences the properties of cement-based materials [89]. Fig. 13 shows
the variation in 28-day compressive strength versus the MK content,
the specific area of MK particles, along with SiO2 /Al2 O3 ratio. As can
(6) leads to an increase in 28-day compressive strength for any replacement
level. A higher specific area would lead to a better packing and filling
capacity at the aggregate/paste interface and also results in a higher
pozzolanic reaction rate. This is in accordance with the results reported
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M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

Fig. 10. Relative importance of the input parameters in the proposed model.

Fig. 11. Performance of GMDH model for 7-day compressive strength.

Fig. 12. Performance of GMDH model for 28-day compressive strength.

in [15,89]. Besides, the intensity of variation in compressive strength MK to be able to react more rapidly, leading to a faster rate of strength
is severe for higher amounts of MK. An increase in surface area causes evolution. This increase in fineness also resulted in a decrease in the

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M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

Table 6
Comparison of five statistical indicators to evaluate the accuracy of the GMDH model (unscaled data accuracy).
Output MSE RMSE NSE MAPE R
7-day compressive strength 0.0069 (36.62) 0.0835 (6.05) 0.8708 (0.8708) 19.65 (8.63) 0.9305 (0.9305)
28-day compressive strength 0.0067 (43.63) 0.0824 (6.60) 0.867 (0.867) 20.3 (7.41) 0.9186 (0.9186)

Table 7
The assumed mixture of concrete (all units in (kg/m3 )).
Mixture Cement Water Coarse aggregate Fine aggregate
C30 370 185 1232 698
optimum level of replacement of cement by MK, meaning that the
maximum compressive strength is achieved with a lower amount of
MK. Moreover, for a certain specific area, an increase in replacement
level leads to an increase in compressive strength. In other words,
more of the cement could be replaced by this MK without the system
suffering a lag due to dilution [3,92]. The dilution effect is a result
of the reduced cement content in the concrete mix which decreases
the hydration reaction. This decrease results in a lower production
rate of the calcium hydroxide required for the pozzolanic reaction of
metakaolin, thus causing what is known as the dilution effect [100].
Therefore, the optimum level of MK replacement depends on its specific
area. As can be seen in Fig. 13(a), an increase in MK specific area causes
the optimum replacement level of MK to decrease.
As can be seen in Fig. 13(b) there is an optimum value for SiO2 /
Al2 O3 ratio of metakaolin, which in this study, and for C30 mixture,
it was determined about 2 for concrete containing MK. There is an
increase and then a slight reduction in the compressive strength of
concrete containing MK with increasing the SiO2 /Al2 O3 ratio. Besides,
the increase in compressive strength in higher MK content is more
significant. In addition, for a lower amount of SiO2 /Al2 O3 ratio, an
increase in 28-day compressive strength has a direct relation with MK
replacement level. This trend can be seen as several thick lines at the
bottom of Fig. 13(b). The reactivity level of MK, which in turn depends
on the SiO2 content, can be expressed as the consumption rate of CH
per gram of pozzolans [101]. Kostuch et al. [102] showed that in order
to fully remove all the CH in concrete at the age of 28 days, 20%
replacement of cement by MK was required. In Poon et al. study, the CH
content was calculated from the weight loss between 425 ◦ C and 550
◦ C. In both cases, cement blended with 20% MK showed the least total
CH [103]. Oriol and Pera came to a similar conclusion but the required
percent of MK to remove all the CH in MK-PC paste at a W/C ratio of
0.5 for 28 days was 30 to 40% [104]. Consuming the CH during the
hydration period results in enriching the microstructure by C-S-H and
stratlingite (C2 ASH8 ), and lowering the pore size distribution [105].
3.5. Development of empirical approach to determine concrete compressive
strength
The suitable accuracy in results and also the comparable contri-
bution of the parameters in the network, along with the reasonable
accordance with proven facts allow the implementation of the ANN
models to predict the experimental results, and at a higher level, pro-
pose a formula for estimation of the compressive strength of concrete
containing MK considering its chemical and physical characteristics.
The formula uses the weights and biases of the ANN model to predict
the compressive strength of MK-based concrete. Generating of empir-
ical equations can reduce the limitation of neural networks use. The
pattern formula used here for predicting the compressive strength of
concrete was introduced by Leung et al. [106]. To come up with an
empirical formula, the most effective parameter on the output needs
to be determined. Fig. 10 indicates that the specific area of the MK
was more effective than the other parameters. The variation of 28-day
compressive strength versus the specific area is plotted in Fig. 14 in
which the other parameters were set in their median value. The same
procedure was performed for other inputs while the specific area was
Metakaolin kept constant at its median value. It is assumed that the variation of
9.75–92.5 compressive strength with each parameter is independent of the other
parameters, and can be expressed as Eq. (8). In Eq. (8), (𝐹𝑐 )𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡 is
equal to the value of compressive strength that can be directly read
from Fig. 14. To consider other input parameters’ effect on the 28-
day compressive strength, a correction function has to be derived.
𝐶𝑐 , 𝐶𝑚𝑘 , 𝐶𝑤 , 𝐶𝑐𝑎 , 𝐶𝑓 𝑎 , 𝐶𝑠𝑖 , and 𝐶𝑎𝑙 are the correction function of cement,
metakaolin, water, coarse aggregates, fine aggregates, SiO2 and Al2 O3 ,
respectively. Using the curve fitting tools in MATLAB, a line that fits
the curve with the minimum least square error can be found.
[ ]
𝐹𝑐 = 𝐶𝑐 × 𝐶𝑚𝑘 × 𝐶𝑤 × 𝐶𝑐𝑎 × 𝐶𝑓 𝑎 × 𝐶𝑠𝑖 × 𝐶𝑎𝑙 (𝐹𝑐 )𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡 (8)
After the fitting process, the following equations were obtained:
𝑐
𝐶𝑐 = (2.053 × ( )) − 1.053 (9)
361
𝑚𝑘
𝐶𝑚𝑘 = (0.03 × ( )) + 0.97 (10)
45
𝑤
𝐶𝑤 = (0.4615 × ( )) + 0.5385 (11)
162
𝑐𝑎
𝐶𝑐𝑎 = (−0.2246 × ( )) + 1.164 (12)
1050
𝑓𝑎 2 𝑓𝑎
𝐶𝑓 𝑎 = (−0.9482 × ( ) ) + (1.224 × ( )) + 0.8021 (13)
750 750
𝑠𝑖
𝐶𝑠𝑖 = (−4.669 × ( )) + 5.669 (14)
53.2
𝑎𝑙
𝐶𝑎𝑙 = (1.924 × ( )) − 0.9242 (15)
38.3
A simple empirical approach to predict the 28-day compressive
strength of MK-based concrete is provided using Eqs. (9)–(15) along
with the chart in Fig. 14. It should be mentioned that this approach
has some limitations regarding the SiO2 and Al2 O3 contents. For better
accuracy in results, the SiO2 and Al2 O3 should not exceed 60 or fall
below 20, respectively. The results from the empirical approach are
compared to experimental ones in Fig. 15. The error distribution of
the results from the empirical approach, in terms of the percentage
difference between simulated and experimental results, is summarized
in Table 8.
The MSE and correlation coefficient of the network is 0.0017 and
0.98213, respectively. The ANN model considered the entire samples in
the error range of ±20%. The empirical approach exhibits an acceptable
precision although there are some limitations which made the number
of useful data to be 95, i.e. about 71%. The empirical approach can
estimate the 42% of data in the error range of ±20%, 68.4% in the error
range of ±40%, and more than 96% of samples in the error range of
±60%. The empirical equation proposed in this paper, which considers
the chemical and physical properties of MK, not only is practical and
easy to use but also shows a good correlation with experimental results.
The percentage of data points existing in different ranges of error
is presented in Fig. 16 for both 7-day and 28-day compressive strength
models. As can be seen, more than 72% of estimations based on the
ANN model have errors lower than ±5%, and the entire results have
less than ±20% error for 7-day compressive strength. The empirical
approach has the ability to predict more than 44% of the results with
an error range of ±25%. Fig. 16(b) demonstrates that more than 79% of
the results of the 28-day compressive strength model can be estimated
using the ANN model in the error range of ±5%. The empirical ap-
proach predicts more than 46% of the data in the error range of ±25%.
The results of the error distribution indicate the efficient capability of
the ANN model.

11
M.J. Moradi et al. Measurement 183 (2021) 109790

Fig. 13. Variation of 28-day compressive strength versus MK content, specific area and SiO2 /Al2 O3 ratio.

Table 8
Precision of proposed methods and data distribution in the error range for normalized and unscaled data.
Approach MSE R coefficient Number of data in error range and percentage to total data
±20% ±40% ±60%
ANN analysis 0.0017 (11.12) 0.9821 (0.9821) 134 (100%) 134 (100%) 134 (100%)
Empirical 0.083 (533) 0.6196 (0.6196) 40 (42.1%) 65 (68.4%) 92 (96.8%)

Fig. 14. Variation of 28-day compressive strength versus specific area regarding other
input parameters to be in their reference value.

Fig. 15. Comparison between experimental and predicted 28-day compressive strength.

4. Conclusions
Estimating the compressive strength of concrete containing
metakaolin using an ANN model which accounts for both simplicity and
accuracy, can be useful to save the required energy, time, and cost. A
comprehensive database including 105 and 134 distinctive experimen-
tal records of MK-based concretes was collected from the literature to
be implemented in the ANN model. The following conclusions were
derived based on analyzing the proposed ANN model:
1- The network shows excellent accuracy in predicting the 7 and
28-days compressive strength with an MSE of 0.002 and 0.0017, re-
spectively. On the other hand, entire the predicted results were within
±20% of the experimental values for ANN model.
2- In order to use the predicted results obtained from the ANN
model in estimation of the compressive strength of concrete containing
MK in the absence of the idealized network, a simple and practical
equation was derived which predicts the compressive strength indepen-
dently from the network. The precision of the proposed equation was
verified by available experimental data and showed good agreement.
The MSE error of the empirical equation was 0.083. The equation can
estimate more than 68 and 96% of data in the error range of ±40% and
±60%, respectively.
3- The developed networks and proposed equation are able to
consider the effect of MK characteristics on the properties of concrete.
The results of simulation using ANN indicated that the optimum level
of MK replacement depends on its specific area along with SiO2 /Al2 O3
ratio. An increase in the specific area leads to a reduction in the
optimum replacement level. Besides, there is an optimum value for

12
M.J. Moradi et al.
Fig. 16. Number of data in the various error range.
SiO2 /Al2 O3 ratio which maximizes the compressive strength of the
metakaolin concrete.
4- Comparison of the results of the proposed ANN with the GMDH
model outcomes confirmed the high performance of the proposed ANN
in predicting the compressive strength of concrete containing MK.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
M.J. Moradi: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal
analysis, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Visualization. M.
Khaleghi: Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation.
J. Salimi: Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation.
V. Farhangi: Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing - review &
editing, Visualization. A.M. Ramezanianpour: Methodology, Writing
- original draft, Writing - review & editing, Supervision.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
The data presented in this study are available upon request from the
corresponding author.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary material related to this article can be found online
at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2021.109790.
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