Accurate prediction of concrete compressive strength is fundamental for optimizing mix designs,improving material utilization,and ensuring structural safety in modern construction.Traditional empirical methods often f...Accurate prediction of concrete compressive strength is fundamental for optimizing mix designs,improving material utilization,and ensuring structural safety in modern construction.Traditional empirical methods often fail to capture the non-linear relationships among concrete constituents,especially with the growing use of supple-mentary cementitious materials and recycled aggregates.This study presents an integrated machine learning framework for concrete strength prediction,combining advanced regression models—namely CatBoost—with metaheuristic optimization algorithms,with a particular focus on the Somersaulting Spider Optimizer(SSO).A comprehensive dataset encompassing diverse mix proportions and material types was used to evaluate baseline machine learning models,including CatBoost,XGBoost,ExtraTrees,and RandomForest.Among these,CatBoost demonstrated superior accuracy across multiple performance metrics.To further enhance predictive capability,several bio-inspired optimizers were employed for hyperparameter tuning.The SSO-CatBoost hybrid achieved the lowest mean squared error and highest correlation coefficients,outperforming other metaheuristic approaches such as Genetic Algorithm,Particle Swarm Optimization,and Grey Wolf Optimizer.Statistical significance was established through Analysis of Variance and Wilcoxon signed-rank testing,confirming the robustness of the optimized models.The proposed methodology not only delivers improved predictive performance but also offers a transparent framework for mix design optimization,supporting data-driven decision making in sustainable and resilient infrastructure development.展开更多
To address the limitations of the sand cat swarm optimization(SCSO) algorithm which are slow convergence and low accuracy in complex problems,this study proposes an improved SCSO(ISCSO) algorithm that integrates multi...To address the limitations of the sand cat swarm optimization(SCSO) algorithm which are slow convergence and low accuracy in complex problems,this study proposes an improved SCSO(ISCSO) algorithm that integrates multiple enhancement strategies.Firstly,Kent chaotic mapping initializes the population for uniform distribution.Secondly,somersault foraging strategy is introduced during the search and attack phases,allowing the algorithm to escape local optima by intercepting evasive prey.Simultaneously,an adaptive Lévy flight strategy is incorporated into the attack phase to bolster global exploration.Finally,the vertical and horizontal crossover strategy is implemented to enhance population diversity.The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using 16 benchmark test functions.The experimental results demonstrate that ISCSO significantly outperforms the original SCSO and shows notable advantages over other metaheuristic algorithms.Furthermore,application to a pressure vessel design problem verifies ISCSO's effectiveness in solving practical engineering optimization challenges.展开更多
文摘Accurate prediction of concrete compressive strength is fundamental for optimizing mix designs,improving material utilization,and ensuring structural safety in modern construction.Traditional empirical methods often fail to capture the non-linear relationships among concrete constituents,especially with the growing use of supple-mentary cementitious materials and recycled aggregates.This study presents an integrated machine learning framework for concrete strength prediction,combining advanced regression models—namely CatBoost—with metaheuristic optimization algorithms,with a particular focus on the Somersaulting Spider Optimizer(SSO).A comprehensive dataset encompassing diverse mix proportions and material types was used to evaluate baseline machine learning models,including CatBoost,XGBoost,ExtraTrees,and RandomForest.Among these,CatBoost demonstrated superior accuracy across multiple performance metrics.To further enhance predictive capability,several bio-inspired optimizers were employed for hyperparameter tuning.The SSO-CatBoost hybrid achieved the lowest mean squared error and highest correlation coefficients,outperforming other metaheuristic approaches such as Genetic Algorithm,Particle Swarm Optimization,and Grey Wolf Optimizer.Statistical significance was established through Analysis of Variance and Wilcoxon signed-rank testing,confirming the robustness of the optimized models.The proposed methodology not only delivers improved predictive performance but also offers a transparent framework for mix design optimization,supporting data-driven decision making in sustainable and resilient infrastructure development.
基金Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No.2022ZD0119000)the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (No.2025JC-YBMS-736,2025JC-YBMS-343)Shaanxi Province Key Research and Development Project (2025CY-YBXM-061)。
文摘To address the limitations of the sand cat swarm optimization(SCSO) algorithm which are slow convergence and low accuracy in complex problems,this study proposes an improved SCSO(ISCSO) algorithm that integrates multiple enhancement strategies.Firstly,Kent chaotic mapping initializes the population for uniform distribution.Secondly,somersault foraging strategy is introduced during the search and attack phases,allowing the algorithm to escape local optima by intercepting evasive prey.Simultaneously,an adaptive Lévy flight strategy is incorporated into the attack phase to bolster global exploration.Finally,the vertical and horizontal crossover strategy is implemented to enhance population diversity.The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using 16 benchmark test functions.The experimental results demonstrate that ISCSO significantly outperforms the original SCSO and shows notable advantages over other metaheuristic algorithms.Furthermore,application to a pressure vessel design problem verifies ISCSO's effectiveness in solving practical engineering optimization challenges.
