Neural networks modeling of shear strength of SFRC corbels without stirrups

Based on developed semi-empirical characteristic equations an artificial neural network ( ANN) model is presented to measure the ultimate shear strength of steel fibrous reinforced concrete (SFRC) corbels without shear reinforcement and tested under vertical loading. Backpropagation networks with Lavenberg-Marquardt algorithm is chosen for the proposed network, which is implemented using the programming package MATLAB. The model gives satisfactory predictions of the ultimate shear strength when compared with available test results and some existing models. Using the proposed networks results, a parametric study is also carried out to determine the influence of each parameter affecting the failure shear strength of SFRC corbels with wide range of variables. This shows the versatility of ANNs in constructing relationship among multiple variables of complex physical relationship. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.