Optimum seismic design of unbonded post-tensioned precast concrete walls using ANN

Precast Seismic Structural Systems (PRESSS) provided an iterative procedure for obtaining optimum design of unbonded post-tensioned coupled precast concrete wall systems. Although PRESSS procedure is effective, however, it is lengthy and laborious. The purpose of this research is to employ Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to predict the optimum design parameters for such wall systems while avoiding the demanding iterative process. The developed ANN model is very accurate in predicting the nondimensional optimum design parameters related to post-tensioning reinforcement area, yield force of shear connectors and ratio of moment resisted by shear connectors to the design moment. The Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) for the test data for these design parameters is around %1 and the correlation coefficient is almost equal to 1.0. The developed ANN model is then used to study the effect of different design parameters on wall behavior. It is observed that the design moment and the concrete strength have the most influence on the wall behavior as compared to other parameters. Several design examples were presented to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the ANN model.