Machine-Learning-Based Predictive Models for Compressive Strength, Flexural Strength, and Slump of Concrete

The process of concrete production involves mixing cement, water, and other materials. The quantity of each of these materials results in a performance that is particularly estimated in terms of compressive or flexural strength. It has been observed that the final performance of concrete has a high variance and that traditional formulation methods do not guarantee consistent results. Consequently, designs tend to be over-designed, generating higher costs than required, to ensure the performance committed to the client. This study proposes the construction of predictive machine learning models to estimate compressive or flexural strength and concrete slump. The study was carried out following the Team Data Science Process (TDSP) methodology, using a dataset generated by the Colombian Ready Mix (RMX) company Cementos Argos S.A. over five years, containing the quantity of materials used for different concrete mixes, as well as performance metrics measured in the laboratory. Predictive models such as XGBoost and neural networks were trained, and hyperparameter tuning was performed using advanced techniques such as genetic algorithms to obtain three models with high performance for estimating compressive strength, flexural strength, and slump. This study concludes that it is possible to use machine learning techniques to design reliable concrete mixes that, when combined with traditional analytical methods, could reduce costs and minimize over-designed concrete mixes.