Failure modes determination and load-bearing capacity evaluation of concrete columns under seismic loads by ANNs

The failure modes of concrete columns can be applied to judge the ductility of concrete columns under seismic loads. In addition, the load-bearing capacity of concrete columns was an important parameter in evaluating the seismic performance of concrete columns under seismic loads. However, it was difficult to determine the failure modes and evaluate the load-bearing capacity of concrete columns under seismic loads with the application of high-strength concrete. In this paper, two ANNs, including a genetic algorithm optimization-based support vector machine (GA-SVM) and an ANFIS, were developed to determine the failure modes of concrete columns under seismic loads. The main investigated parameters, including specimens' shear span ratio, the compressive strength of concrete, the yield strength and volumetric ratio of stirrups, and the yield strength and ratio of longitudinal reinforcement, were applied as input variables to the models. The proposed models were trained and tested using 247 data sets from previous studies. The proposed models had high reliability and predictability to determine the failure modes of concrete columns under seismic loads. Furthermore, an ANFIS network was developed to evaluate the load-bearing capacity of concrete columns, which had high reliability and predictability.