Browsing by Author "Soleymani, Atefeh"

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    Multi-Objective Optimization of Sustainable Concrete Containing Fly Ash Based on Environmental and Mechanical Considerations
    (Buildings, 2022) Onyelowe, Kennedy C.; Kontoni, Denise-Penelope N.; Ebid, Ahmed M.; Dabbaghi, Farshad; Soleymani, Atefeh; Jahangir, Hashem; Nehdi, Moncef L.
    Infrastructure design, construction and development experts are making frantic efforts to overcome the overbearing effects of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the continued dependence on the utilization of conventional cement as a construction material on our planet. The amount of CO2 emitted during cement production, transportation to construction sites, and handling during construction activities to produce concrete is alarming. The present research work is focused on proposing intelligent models for fly ash (FA)-based concrete comprising cement, fine and coarse aggregates (FAg and CAg), FA, and water as mix constituents based on environmental impact (P) considerations in an attempt to foster healthier and greener concrete production and aid the environment. FA as a construction material is discharged as a waste material from power plants in large amounts across the world. Its utilization as a supplementary cement ensures a sustainable waste management mechanism and is beneficial for the environment too; hence, this research work is a multi-objective exercise. Intelligent models are proposed for multiple concrete mixes utilizing FA as a replacement for cement to predict 28-day concrete compressive strength and life cycle assessment (LCA) for cement with FA. The data collected show that the concrete mixes with a higher amount of FA had a lesser impact on the environment, while the environmental impact was higher for those mixes with a higher amount of cement. The models which utilized the learning abilities of ANN (-BP, -GRG, and -GA), GP and EPR showed great speed and robustness with R2 performance indices (SSE) of 0.986 (5.1), 0.983 (5.8), 0.974 (7.0), 0.78 (19.1), and 0.957 (10.1) for Fc, respectively, and 0.994 (2.2), 0.999 (0.8), 0.999 (1.0), 0.999 (0.8), and 1.00 (0.4) for P, respectively. Overall, this shows that ANN-BP outclassed the rest in performance in predicting Fc, while EPR outclassed the others in predicting P. Relative importance analyses conducted on the constituent materials showed that FA had relatively good importance in the concrete mixes. However, closed-form model equations are proposed to optimize the amount of FA and cement that will provide the needed strength levels without jeopardizing the health of the environment.
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    Multi-Objective Prediction of the Mechanical Properties and Environmental Impact Appraisals of Self-Healing Concrete for Sustainable Structures
    (Sustainability, 2022) Onyelowe, Kennedy C.; Ebid, Ahmed M.; Riofrio, Ariel; Baykara, Haci; Soleymani, Atefeh; Mahdi, Hisham A.; Jahangir, Hashem; Ibe, Kizito
    As the most commonly used construction material, concrete produces extreme amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) yearly. For this resulting environmental impact on our planet, supplementary materials are being studied daily for their potentials to replace concrete constituents responsible for the environmental damage caused by the use of concrete. Therefore, the production of bioconcrete has been studied by utilizing the environmental and structural benefit of the bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, in concrete. This bio-concrete is known as self-healing concrete (SHC) due to its potential to trigger biochemical processes which heal cracks, reduce porosity, and improve strength of concrete throughout its life span. In this research paper, the life cycle assessment (LCA) based on the environmental impact indices of global warming potential, terrestrial acidification, terrestrial eco-toxicity, freshwater eco-toxicity, marine eco-toxicity, human carcinogenic toxicity, and human noncarcinogenic toxicity of SHC produced with Bacillus subtilis has been evaluated. Secondly, predictive models for the mechanical properties of the concrete, which included compressive (Fc), splitting tensile (Ft), and flexural (Ff) strengths and slump (S), have been studied by using artificial intelligence techniques. The results of the LCA conducted on the multiple data of Bacillus subtilis-based SHC mixes show that the global warming potential of SHC-350 mix (350 kg cement mix) is 18% less pollutant than self-healing geopolymer concrete referred to in the literature study. The more impactful mix in the present study has about 6% more CO2 emissions. In the terrestrial acidification index, the present study shows a 69–75% reduction compared to the literature. The results of the predictive models show that ANN outclassed GEP and EPR in the prediction of Fc, Ft, Ff, and S with minimal error and overall performance.