• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.3 no.5
• /
• pp.357-373
• /
• 2006

The concepts of four parameters of nominal water-cement ratio, equivalent water-cement ratio, average paste thickness, fly ash-binder ratio were introduced. It was verified that the four parameters and the mix proportion of mortar can be transformed each other. The behaviors (strength, workability, et al.) of mortar primarily determined by the mix proportion of mortar now depend on the four parameters. The prediction models of strength and workability of mortar were built based on artificial neural networks (ANNs). The calculation models of average paste thickness and equivalent water-cement ratio of mortar can be obtained by the reversal deduction of the two prediction models, respectively. A mortar mix proportion design algorithm was proposed. The proposed mortar mix proportion design algorithm is expected to reduce the number of trial and error, save cost, laborers and time.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
• /
• v.17 no.1 s.85
• /
• pp.157-166
• /
• 2005

This article involves architecting prototype-fuzzy expert system for designing the nominal cover thickness by means of fuzzy inference for quantitatively representing the environment affecting factor to reinforced concrete in chloride-induced corrosion environment. In this work, nominal cover thickness to reinforcement in concrete was determined by the sum of minimum cover thickness and tolerance to that defined from skill level, constructability and the significance of member. Several variables defining the quality of concrete and environment affecting factor (EAF) including relative humidity, temperature, cyclic wet and dry, and the distance from coast were treated as fuzzy variables. To qualify EAF the environment conditions of cycle degree of wet-dry, relative humidity, distance from coast and temperature were used as input variables. To determine the nominal cover thickness a qualified EAF, concrete grade, and water-cement ratio were used. The membership functions of each fuzzy variable were generated from the engineering knowledge and intuition based on some references as well as some international codes of practice.