A principal component analysis in concrete design

Abstract

Over the last 200 years, ordinary concrete has evolved from four basic ingredient materials (gravel, sand, cement, and water) to multicomponent complex composites. The number and variety of the additives, admixtures, non-conventional aggregates, fillers, and fibres currently used for concrete production have continued to grow rapidly. Regrettably, the methods for de-signing concrete mixes have not evolved at a similarly fast pace. Keeping the above facts in mind, the authors utilised a principal component analysis (PCA) to design modern concrete mixes. As an initial approach, 550 cast and tested concrete mixes were analysed. The main aim of the presented study was to prove the usefulness of the PCA methodology for the fast classification of concrete mix compositions. The acquired knowledge should be useful for the effective design of multicomponent modern concrete mixes.

Exploring Analytical Hierarchy Process for Multicriteria Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Slabs

“…The use of PCA in the context of the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry can be found in the most diverse areas, from application in demolition waste generation to material characteristics, as presented by [24], who used this method to design modern concrete mixes. This work was based on a sample of 550 types of mixture, which were later categorized and divided according to the compressive strength of the concrete.…”