Abstract
Compressive strength is one of the important property of concrete and depends on many factors. Most of the concrete compressive strength predictive models mainly rely on available literature data, which are too simple to consider all the contributing factors. This study adopted a new approach to predict the compressive strength of sugarcane bagasse ash concrete (SCBAC). A vast amount of data from the literature study and fifteen laboratory tested concrete samples with different dosage of bagasse ash, were respectively used to calibrate and validate the models. The novel Gene Expression Programming, Multiple Linear Regression and Multiple Non-Linear Regression were used to model SCBAC compressive strength. The water cement ratio, bagasse ash percent replacement, quantity of fine and coarse aggregate and cement content were used as an input for models development. Various statistical indicators, i.e., NSE, R(2)and RMSE were used to assess the performance of the models. The results indicated a strong correlation between observed and predicted values with NSE and R(2)both above 0.8 during calibration and validation for the Gene Expression Programming (GEP). The outcomes from GEP outclassed all the models to predict SCBAC compressive strength. The validity of the model is further verified using data of fifteen tests conducted in the laboratory. Moreover, the cement content in the mix was revealed as the most sensitive parameter followed by water cement ratio form sensitivity analysis. The GEP fulfilled all the criteria for external validity. The simple formulae derived in this study could be used reliably for the prediction of SCBAC compressive strength.