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IJMLC 2015 Vol.5(6): 480-483 ISSN: 2010-3700
DOI: 10.18178/ijmlc.2015.5.6.557

Improving Non-Destructive Test Results Using Artificial Neural Networks

Yi-Fan Shih, Yu-Ren Wang, Shih-Shian Wei, and Chin-Wen Chen

Abstract—In the construction industry, non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are gaining more popularity for their ability to examine the in-situ component properties without damaging the structure. One of the most common NDTs for measuring the concrete compressive strength on site is the Rebound Hammer Test. Using the rebound value obtained from the test hammer, the concrete compressive strength can be estimated using the conversion chart provided by the instrument manufacturer. Despite for its convenience, rebound hammer test estimations have an average of over 20% mean absolute percentage error when comparing to the compressive strength obtained by destructive tests. In light of this, this research proposes an alternative approach to obtain the concrete compressive strength using the rebound value from the test hammer. That is, by applying the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to develop a prediction model for concrete compressive strength estimation. Data collected from 838 lab Rebound Hammer tests are collected to train and validate the ANNs model. The ANNs model prediction results have successfully reduced the average mean absolute percentage error to 7.27%. It is recommended that Artificial Neural Networks can be applied to improve non-destructive test (rebound hammer test) results.

Index Terms—Non-destructive test, compressive strength, rebound hammer test, SilverSchmidt electronic test hammer, artificial intelligence, artificial neural networks.

Yi-Fan Shih and Chin-Wen Chen are with the Civil Engineering & Disaster Prevention Technology Institute, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Chien-Kung Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (e-mail: shih090202@kimo.com, jessica199111@gmail.com).
Yu-Ren Wang was with the University of Texas at Austin. He is now with the National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Chien-Kung Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (e-mail: yrwang@kuas.edu.tw).
Shih-Shian Wei was with the Civil Engineering & Disaster Prevention Technology Institute, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Chien-Kung Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (e-mail: lskl@ms15.hinet.net).

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Cite: Yi-Fan Shih, Yu-Ren Wang, Shih-Shian Wei, and Chin-Wen Chen, "Improving Non-Destructive Test Results Using Artificial Neural Networks," International Journal of Machine Learning and Computing vol.5, no. 6, pp. 480-483, 2015.

General Information

  • E-ISSN: 2972-368X
  • Abbreviated Title: Int. J. Mach. Learn.
  • Frequency: Quaterly
  • DOI: 10.18178/IJML
  • Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Lin Huang
  • Executive Editor:  Ms. Cherry L. Chen
  • Abstracing/Indexing: Inspec (IET), Google Scholar, Crossref, ProQuest, Electronic Journals LibraryCNKI.
  • E-mail: ijml@ejournal.net


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