Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Model for mix design of brick aggregate concrete based on neural

network modelling
Tanja Kalman Šipoš a,⇑, Ivana Miličević b, Rafat Siddique c
a
Department for Technical Mechanics, Faculty of Civil Engineering Osijek, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Vladimira Preloga 3, Osijek, Croatia
b
Department for Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering Osijek, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Vladimira Preloga 3, Osijek, Croatia
c
Department of Civil Engineering, Thapar University, Patiala (Punjab), India

h i g h l i g h t s

Exploring the possibility of predicting RBAC compressive strength with neural network modelling.

Investigation of concrete components variation effects on the concrete compressive strength.

Development of mix design model for concrete made of recycled brick aggregate.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This article proposes an optimized quantitative model for proportioning concrete mixtures based on
Received 20 February 2017 cement content, water-cement ratio and percentage of recycled aggregate replacement according to pref-
Received in revised form 8 May 2017 fered recycled brick aggregate concrete (RBAC) compressive strength. A database compiled from 147
Accepted 9 May 2017
experimental tests of RBAC compressive strength was processed by neural network modelling to achieve
a reliable prediction, which was investigated by three-fold validation. The performance of the represen-
tative neural network model was verified by parametric analysis with a brief review of the influence of
Keywords:
each RBAC component. The focus of the main results is enhancement of the neural network modelling
Neural network
Recycled aggregate
results and consequently new interpretation and conceptualisation for theoretical advancement and
Compressive strength practical applied research on RBAC concrete content.
Crushed brick Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Mix design

1. Introduction crushed bricks can be used as natural aggregates with substitution

Use of recycled materials as replacement for natural aggregate
in concrete is of paramount importance due to the environmen-
tally friendly aspect of their re-use. Crushed clay bricks and clay
roof tiles as alternative aggregates have particular significance as
their use in this fashion can considerably reduce the problem of
waste storage as well as help in the preservation of natural aggre-
gates [1]. Therefore, recycled brick aggregate concrete (RBAC) is an
interesting, environmentally friendly material with unknown
properties that need to be investigated.
Numerous studies have been performed to evaluate the poten-
tial applications of crushed brick as an aggregate. Debieb and Kenai
[1] used coarse and fine crushed bricks and reported a reduction in
compressive strength of RBAC concrete from 20% to 30%, depend-
ing of the degree of substitution. Cachim [2] concluded that
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: tkalman@gfos.hr (T. Kalman Šipoš), ivana.milicevic@gfos.hr
(I. Miličević), siddique_66@yahoo.com (R. Siddique).
up to 15% without any loss in compressive strength of concrete;
however, for 30% natural aggregate substitution, there is a reduc-
tion of concrete properties (up to 20%, depending on the type of
brick).
Other authors [3,4] have found that crushed brick aggregate
concrete has a relatively lower strength at early age than normal
aggregate concrete. They attributed this characteristic to the
higher water absorption of crushed brick aggregate compared to
gravel, which was used as the control aggregate. The compressive
strength is lower for crushed brick concrete; the higher the rate of
substitution normal aggregate with brick, the lower the compres-
sive strength. The use of bricks as concrete aggregate caused a
40% reduction in compressive strength [5,6]. Concrete produced
with these aggregates did not perform as well as concrete pro-
duced with natural aggregates in terms of strength. Strength prop-
erties of specimens with crushed brick aggregate are lower
compared to the same properties for the reference mixtures with
natural aggregate. Results of experimental investigations in [7]

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.05.111
0950-0618/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
758 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769
revealed lower compressive strength of concrete with recycled
brick aggregate. These results are expected due to the lower grain
hardness of a crushed brick/tile aggregate compared to a river
aggregate. However, the concrete still has sufficient strength to
make it suitable for some applications, with the added benefit that
density values are much lower, making it suitable in situations
where self-weight is a problem [3]. Poon and Chan [8,9] observed
that incorporation of 20% fine crushed brick aggregate decreased
the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of concrete
by 18%. Aliabdo [10] indicated that the highest reduction in com-
pressive strength due to the presence of recycled aggregate is asso-
ciated with the highest cement content at a comparable
replacement level.
The main inference from previous studies is that using crushed
brick aggregates as alternative reduces concrete compresive
strength. These relationships between components and concrete
properties cannot be demonstrated with a mathematical formula,
and this knowledge is imperative for optimizing the quantities of
components used in the manufacture of RBAC. In this aspect,
numerical modelling for such relationships was accomplished by
designing an artificial neural network model (ANN) of concrete
compressive strength.
ANN modelling has been widely used for prediction of concrete
properties with natural aggregates [11–21]. Nevertheless, few
studies focused on modelling the compresive strength of concrete
containing recycled aggregate. Topçu and Sarıdemir [22] com-
pleted a trial that used ANN to predict the compressive and split-
ting tensile strengths of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC)
containing silica fume. Duan [23] demonstrated the possible appli-
cability of ANNs to predict the compressive strength of RAC
obtained from old buildings or pavements containing small
amounts of soft soils, natural stones, clay bricks, and other impuri-
ties like paper, wood, glass, tiles, and metals. Dantas [24] used ANN
models to predict compressive strength at 3, 7, 28, and 91 days of
concrete containing construction and demolition waste (i.e., mor-
tar, concrete, red ceramic, and other recycled materials).
The literature review, as discussed above, reveals that no
research has been undertaken on the use of ANN to predict the
compressive strength of concrete made only of recycled brick
aggregate.
So far, research involving ANN models has mainly aspired to
gain insight into the possibility of predicting as well as elucidating
the relationship between concrete components and concrete prop-
erties, with the main emphasis on performance measures. The
intention of this paper is not to characterize the statistical mea-
sures of neural network prediction, but rather to provide a repre-
sentative model for RBAC compressive strength from the
perspective of concrete content based on parametric analysis.
Consequently, the main issues of the study can be stated as:

To explore the possibility of predicting RBAC compressive
strength;
Table 1
Experimental database of RBAC: list of authors and samples (see Appendix for complete database).
Author Year
Miličević 2011
Debieb & Kenai 2008
Khalaf & DeVenny 2004
Rühl & Atkinson 1999
Khatib 2005
Cachim 2009
Poon et all -I 2007
Poon et all -II 2007
Topçu & Canbaz 2007
Alibdo et all 2014

To examine the parametric analysis of and investigate how con-
crete components’ variation influences concrete compressive
strength;

To develop a model for defining concrete content made of recy-
cled brick aggregate for required concrete compressive
strength.
2. Experimental database
Regardless of the numerous experimental studies on recycled
aggregate concrete, there is no algorithm for defining concrete
compressive strength. Furthermore, experimental tests are quite
expensive: testing one mixture costs approximately €6125 [25].
To resolve these issues, we attempted to establish the relationship
between concrete compressive strength of RBAC and general con-
crete components by collecting test data.
The collected experimental database contains data from 147
published tests (Table 1). Database parameters were selected
according to all available data samples. However, some parameters
were excluded as they were not available for the entire database
(admixture). Several of the latest research studies on RBAC con-
crete used a large experimental database with no modification to
the replacement ratio of brick aggregate [26–28]. Therefore, these
data are not applicable for the present study.
The concrete mixture components were the input data param-
eters: cement, w/c ratio (w/c), crushed tile ratio (CT), crushed brick
ratio (CB), and natural aggregate (NA) ratio. Physical and mechan-
ical properties of crushed bricks and tiles from various studies are
shown in [1–10]. The main conclusion that can be drawn regarding
the individual effect of specified parameters is that the type or
quality of clay aggregate (i.e., brick or tile) used in this investiga-
tion can be neglected.
Total aggregate ratio was 100% according to the following
equation:
CT½% þ CB½% þ NA½% ¼ 100½% ð1Þ
Furthermore, each aggregate partition was divided into two
sub-parts: fine (0–4 mm) and coarse aggregate (4–16 mm). In
accordance with this division, the experimental database has
eight input parameters. For evaluation of the performance of recy-
cled brick aggregate, it is necessary to estimate the compressive
strength of concrete. According to the availability and uniformity
of data in the experimental database, compressive strength at the
age of 28 days was used as the output parameter. The general dis-
tribution of input and output data is presented in Table 2, and the
complete database with all data is provided in Appendix. Mini-
mum and maximum values of input parameters in the experi-
mental database were chosen based on the literature review
and results of experimental investigations by the authors of this
paper [1–10]. Maximum w/c ratio is 1,08 based on the research
[1], in which has been decided to carry out the research project
at a constant workability (slump between 60 and 70 mm), and
No. of samples Aggregate type Refs.
62 Crushed brick and tile [7]
12 Recycled brick and limestone [1]
9 Crushed brick [3]
2 Recycled brick [4]
5 Recycled brick [6]
10 Recycled brick [2]
3 Recycled brick and tile [8]
4 Recycled brick and tile [9]
18 Crushed brick [5]
22 Crushed clay brick [10]
 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769 759

Table 2
The range of input and output parameters in the experimental database.

Parameter Min Max Average

Input Cement (kg) 250 526.76 374.17
w/c ratio 0.4 1.08 0.54
CT 0–4 (%) 0 100 16.92
CT 4–16 (%) 0 100 16.78
CB 0–4 (%) 0 100 23.35
CB 4–16 (%) 0 100 26.48
NA 0–4 (%) 0 100 59.73
NA 4–16 (%) 0 100 56.73
Output Fc28 (MPa) 8.7 80.5 29.81

the water content has been adapted. Coarse aggregates did not 3.1. Number of hidden neurons
absorb any mixing water because the mix design method used
is based on a coarse aggregate in a saturated surface dry condi- The random selection of a number of hidden neurons (Nh) may
tion; hence, they were soaked in water for 24 h before use. How- cause either overfitting or underfitting of the predicting models
ever, fine brick aggregates could not be fully soaked and absorbed [32]. This concern arises when the network corresponds to the data
part of the mixing water; higher water content was thus required so closely that the ability to generalise over the test data is lost.
for mixes containing these fine brick aggregates as natural sand The number of hidden neurons has a strong influence on the
replacement. All other authors used the effective water/cement stability of the neural network, which is estimated by error (mini-
ratio defined as the amount of water available to react with the mal error reflects better stability). An excessive number of hidden
cement of the mixture. neurons will cause overfitting where neural networks overestimate
the complexity of the target problem. In this sense, determination
of the proper number of hidden neurons to prevent overfitting is
3. Neural network modelling critical for problem prediction with the capability for steady gener-
alisation with the lowest possible deviation in prediction. Accord-
ANNs are massive parallel architectures that can determine ingly, Nh must be delimited within a reasonable range.
answers to demanding problems with the participation of simple The number of hidden neurons was determined using recom-
mutually dependent processing elements (artificial neurons), as mendations of several researchers that have proposed various
is stated in [29]. An ANN has powerful aspects of learning and data
processing and thus can be an effective tool for engineering
applications. Table 3
The multi-layer backpropagation network is the most popular Empirical criteria for the number of hidden neurons Nh.
ANN paradigm according to [30] and is regularly used for efficient No Method Nh Summarized in
generalisation competence. ANNs have the ability to perform with
1. Neville (1986) 0.75 Ni [34]
a good amount of generalisation from the patterns on which they
2. Neville (1986) 2 Ni + 1 [34]
are trained [31]. Training incorporates processing neural networks 3. Hecht-Nielsen (1987) 2 Ni [33]
with a set of known input-output data. Backpropagation neural 4. Hush (1989) 3 Ni [33]
networks generally consist of layers with neurons: an input layer, 5. Popovics (1990) (Ni + No)/2 [34]
6. Gallant (1993) 2 Ni [34]
an output layer, and one or more hidden layers (Fig. 1). The learn-
7. Wang (1994) 2 Ni/3 [33]
ing process is continued in the output layer, where the error 8. Masters (1994) (Ni + No)1/2 [33]
between the network outputs and desired outputs is calculated 9. Li (1995) ((1 + 8 Ni)1/2  1)/2 [32]
and then propagated back to the network with updated weights 10. Tamura (1997) Ni + 1 [32]
for the direction in which the performance function decreases 11. Lai (1997) Ni [34]
12. Nagendra (1998) Ni + No [34]
most rapidly [14]. The entire training process is repeated for the
13. Zhang (2003) 2Ni/n + 1 [32]
number of epochs until the desired accuracy in network output 14. Shibata (2009) (Ni No)1/2 [32]
is accomplished. When the network is trained, after validation, 15. Sheela (2013) (4 N2i + 3)/(N2i  8) [32]
which is used as stopping method, it is used for testing against data
Ni – number of input neurons; No – number of output neurons.
that the network has never before seen.

–
X1 w1j
w2j
X2 Oj

Xi
wij Σwij i
(net)j

win Output
Xn Sum Log-sigmoid
function activation
function
Input

Fig. 1. Architecture of applied neural network.

760 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769

34 ensure that it covers the range of input parameters. Furthermore,

all data were scaled in the range [0,1] with the following equation:
30 max USV
SV ¼ ð2Þ
max  min
26
where SV is scaled value, USV is unscaled value, and max and min
22 are maximum and minimum values of the observed data.
The performance of an ANN model primarily depends on the
network architecture and parameter settings. The values of param-
Nh

18
eters used in the neural network model are given in Table 4.
In this study, the Matlab ANN toolbox [38] was used for ANN
14
applications. All the networks were trained using the Levenberg-
Marquardt algorithm with ‘log-sigmoid’ transfer functions
10
between the first (input) and second (hidden) layers and the ‘lin-
ear’ transfer function between the second and third layers (output).
6
A three-fold procedure was used for neural network evaluation:
performance measures, performance evaluation, and success ratio
2 (Fig. 4).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Five statistical performance measures were used to evaluate the
Empirical criteria effectiveness of each network and its ability to make accurate pre-
dictions. The performance measures used for the accuracy of the
Fig. 2. Range of number of hidden neurons according to Ni = 8, No = 1.
proposed learning models are presented in Table 5. Lower values
of MAE, RMSE, and MAPE and higher values of R and E above
methodologies. These empirical criteria for the number of hidden 0.90 illustrate good efficiency and predictability of the model.
neurons in the first hidden layer are presented in Table 3. There Furthermore, qualitative validity of neural networks is evalu-
are eight input and one output parameters, according to Table 2. ated by the success ratio SR [39] given by the following equation:
The considered empirical expressions resulted in a wide variety NBp
of values (3–33). The most frequent Nh numbers used for ANN SR ¼  100% ð3Þ
D
modelling were 3, 5, and 9 (Fig. 2). Subsequently, the neural net-
work results were evaluated to determine the number of neurons
   X
y0i  y0i  n
that will provide satisfactory results. pi ¼ 1   100% ; jpi j ¼ 1    100% ; p ¼ 1n jpi j
yi yi i¼1

ð4Þ
3.2. Neural network architecture and evaluation procedure
where NBp denotes the number of data entries corresponding to the
The ANN model has eight neurons in the input layer and one range of relative error (i.e., |p|  Bp for the assumed restrained error
neuron in the output layer, as demonstrated in Fig. 3. The number Bp); D = L, V, T, P – the number of training (L), validating (V) testing
of neurons in the hidden layer is defined in the previous section. To (T) and all (P) data entries, respectively; and p = relative error.
ensure good generalisation under ANN processing, it is compulsory
to divide the experimental data in three subdivisions: training, val-
Table 4
idation, and testing.
The values of neural network parameters used in the ANN model.
For database partitioning, Looney [35] recommends 25% for
testing, whereas Swingler [36] proposes 20% and Nelson and Illing- Parameters ANN
worth [37] suggest 20 to 30%. Therefore, in the present work, the Number of input layer units 8
training data set comprises 88 data entries (60%), and the remain- Number of hidden layer 1
Number of hidden layer units 3, 5, 9
ing data entries (59) are divided between the validation and testing
Number of output layer units 1
sets. To test the reliability of the neural network model, 37 samples Learning rate 0.01
were randomly selected as the test set and 22 samples as the val- Performance goal 0
idation set. The division process was carried out randomly between Maximum number of epoch 10000
the three sets, and each dataset was statistically examined to

CT 0-4

CT 4-16
-4
-16
-4

-16

Fig. 3. Structure of ANN network: single hidden layer with five hidden neurons.
 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769 761

3.3. Evaluation of ANN prediction models

To facilitate easier comparison between the neural network

predicted data and starting experimental data, regression plots
for analysis with three, five, and nine hidden neurons are presented
(Figs. 5–7). According to the plots, the difference between the
results of training and validation sets is negligible, considering
the fact that all three neural network models exhibit similar corre-
lation coefficients.
As shown in Fig. 7 and Table 6, analysis with nine hidden neu-
rons indicates agreement between the experimental and predicted
data, according to all statistical performance measures: lower val-
ues of MAE, RMSE, and MAPE is commonly recognized as good pre-
diction of performed models. On the other hand, higher values of R
and E imply that the obtained data corresponds well to the exper-
imental data.
From the viewpoint of success ratio, neural network processing
performed with nine neurons (Fig. 8) indicates that 80% of all pre-
dicted data correspond to the relative error equal to or smaller
than 10%, with values of 14% and 21% for five and three hidden
neurons, respectively. Prediction error for 100% of the data had a
relative error smaller than 17% for best neural network model of
Fig. 4. Flow chart for optimizing the neural network model. nine hidden neurons.
The attempt to provide a detailed evaluation included a review
of performance evaluation (Fig. 9). The data training was stopped
In general, the success ratio represents what percentage of data when the MSE in the validation set began to increase, which signi-
SR (%) is used for the prediction, with the error not greater than p fies that the ANN generalisation stopped increasing. The training
(%). curves in Fig. 9 demonstrate the training procedure. The validation
Performance evaluation is characterized by plots of mean and test curves are complementary. In all three cases, the test
squared error (MSE) vs. epoch for the training, validation, and test curve did not increase significantly before the validation curve
performances of the data. In principle, the error is reduced after increased, so it is unreasonable that some overfitting occurred.
more epochs of training but may begin to increase on the valida- However, it should be emphasized that the lowest MSE is for the
tion data set as the network starts overfitting the training data. network with nine hidden neurons.
To facilitate the best ANN, performance is taken from the epoch In summary, the results of conducted analysis indicate that the
with the lowest validation error, after which there is no more proposed neural network models can be used for prediction of con-
increase in MSE error. crete compressive strength with sufficient accuracy.

Table 5
Statistical performance measures.

Statistical parameter Equation Statistical parameter Equation

Pn 0
Pn
Mean absolute error (MAE) MAE ¼ 1n i¼1 jy  y j
(5) Coefficient of correlation (R) ððyy Þðy0  y0 ÞÞ (8)
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi R ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Pn i¼1 Pn 0 0
Root mean squared error (RMSE) P (6)
2
Þ 
ðyy ðy 
yÞ
RMSE ¼ 1n i¼1 ðy0  yÞ2
n i¼1 i¼1

P 0 Pn
Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) MAPE ¼ 1n ni¼1 j yy y j
(7) Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (E)
E ¼ 1  Pi¼1
ðyy0 Þ2 (9)
n
 2 ðyyÞ
i¼1

y0 presents the predicted value of compressive strength; y is the experimental value; and n is the number of data samples, y0 is the mean predicted value; y is the mean
experimental value.

90 90 90
Predicted data (MPa)

Predicted data (MPa)

Predicted data (MPa)

60 60 60

30 30 30

0 0 0
0 30 60 90 0 30 60 90 0 30 60 90
a) b) c)
Experimental data (MPa) Experimental data (MPa) Experimental data (MPa)
Fig. 5. Comparison of experimental and predicted data of RBAC compressive strength (MPa) for: a) training, b) validation, and c) testing sets including three hidden nodes.
762 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769

90 90 90

Predicted data (MPa)

Predicted data (MPa)

Predicted data (MPa)

60 60 60

30 30 30

0 0 0
0 30 60 90 0 30 60 90 0 30 60 90
a) Experimental data (MPa) b) Experimental data (MPa) c) Experimental data (MPa)
Fig. 6. Comparison of experimental and predicted data of RBAC compressive strength (MPa) for: a) training, b) validation, and c) testing sets including five hidden nodes.

90 90 90
Predicted data (MPa)

Predicted data (MPa)

Predicted data (MPa)

60 60 60

30 30 30

0 0 0
0 30 60 90 0 30 60 90 0 30 60 90
a) Experimental data (MPa) b) c)
Experimental data (MPa) Experimental data (MPa)
Fig. 7. Comparison of experimental and predicted data of RBAC compressive strength (MPa) for: a) training, b) validation, and c) testing sets including nine hidden nodes.

Table 6
Statistical performance of ANN models.

ANN model Statistical errors

Neural network label Learning algorithm No. of hidden nodes MAE (kg/m3) RMSE (kg/m3) MAPE (%) R E
LM_3 Levenberg-Marquardt 3 3.709 0.426 13.157 0.929 0.859
LM_5 5 3.265 0.481 11.633 0.949 0.897
LM_9 9 2.189 0.558 7.844 0.976 0.953

100 100 100

80 80 80
Succes ratio SR (%)

Succes ratio SR(%)

Succes ratio SR(%)

60 60 60

40 40 40

20 20 20

0 0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
p (%) p (%) p (%)
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 8. Success ratio for neural network predictions according to: a) three hidden nodes, b) five hidden nodes, and c) nine hidden nodes.
 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769 763

Fig. 9. Performance evaluation for: a) three hidden nodes, b) five hidden nodes, and c) nine hidden nodes.

Relying on these results, further analysis was conducted to test
the accuracy of prediction with completely new input data to
ensure that the reference model of the neural networks provides
reliable results for parametric analysis on the influence and varia-
tions of the components of RBAC concrete.
4. Parametric analysis based on ANN model results
In this section, results of analysis of concrete content parame-
ters, based on the reliable ANN model, are provided, together with
a brief review of the influence of each parameter on RBAC com-
pressive strength.

3.4. Validation of ANN prediction models

To verify that a given prediction model is suitable for providing
reliable results, completely new data, which were not used in the
evaluation, were used for out of sample validation.
Input data of three samples from [7] are presented in Table 7.
The results in Table 8 clearly demonstrate that for all three sam-
ples, values predicted with ANN models are strongly consistent
with the experimentally obtained values.
It can be seen that the LM_9 (nine hidden neurons) model has
the smallest MAE, RMSE, and MAPE values and highest R and E
(0.999) values. It is clear that the modelling results are exception-
ally correct; therefore, there is no doubt regarding the accuracy of
the prediction performance of the ANN model with nine hidden
neurons, which was applied for parametric analysis.
4.1. Effect of clay aggregate type (tile or brick) and aggregate size (fine
or coarse) content
A simulation of aggregate type influence was carried with a
concrete mixture with 350 kg/m3 cement and w/c ratio of 0.4,
where the content of aggregate is varied by the replacement of nat-
ural aggregates with recycled aggregates in increments of 20% to
the total replacement of natural aggregates (Fig. 10.).
The results indicate that both aggregate types (CB and CT)
behave similarly. In particular, the distribution of recycled aggre-
gate size content is almost the same: utilization of fine aggregate
with a 20% increment for every step cause a decrease in RBAC com-
pressive strength of an average of 4% of the initial value. However,

Table 7
Input data for validation of ANN prediction models.

Sample Input
Cement (kg) w/c CT 0–4 CT 4–16 CB 0–4 CB 4–16 NA 0–4 NA 4–16
C1 400 0.5 0 0 0 25 100 75
C2 400 0.5 0 0 50 25 50 75
C3 400 0.5 0 50 0 25 100 25

Table 8
Statistical performance for validation of ANN prediction models.

ANN label Sample CS _test1 CS_NN2 (MPa) Abs.error Rel.error (%) MAE (kg/m3) RMSE (kg/m3) MAPE (%) R E
(MPa) (MPa)
LM_3 C1 39.36 44.18 -4.82 12.24 3.82 1.95 11.98 0.999 0.988
C2 25.53 29.3 -3.77 14.76
C3 31.95 34.8 -2.85 8.92
LM_5 C1 39.36 42.3 -2.94 7.46 2.43 1.56 7.41 0.999 0.993
C2 25.53 27.02 -1.49 5.83
C3 31.95 34.8 -2.85 8.92
LM_9 C1 39.36 38.12 1.24 3.15 1.21 0.878 3.717 0.999 0.998
C2 25.53 27.19 -1.66 6.50
C3 31.95 30.22 1.73 5.41
1
CS_test – experimentally obtained compressive strength;
2
CS_NN – compressive strength predicted with neural network model.
764 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769

3 = 3 =
40 40
Compressive strength (MPa)

Compressive strength (MPa)

35 35

30 30

25 25

20 20
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
% Recycled aggregate: clay tile % Recycled aggregate: clay brick
Fig. 10. Effect of clay aggregate type and aggregate size.

total replacement of natural aggregates would result in 19% less
compressive strength.
Another interesting point is the effect of coarse aggregate appli-
cation: regardless of aggregate type, RBAC compressive strength
has much lower values, especially for percentages equal to or
higher than 50% (for an increment of 20% of aggregate replace-
ment, the reduction is 10%; however, the use of 100% coarse recy-
cled aggregate causes a decrease in compressive strength by 33%).
On the other hand, fine aggregate, regardless of whether the
aggregate is brick or tiles, shows a lower decrease in the value of
compressive strength. In the case of total replacement (100%),
compressive strength is decreased by 18%. According to the con-
ducted analysis, fine aggregate had a higher compressive strength,
followed by mixtures containing coarse aggregate at the same
replacement level. This can be attributed to the pozzolanic reaction
between silica and alumina that exists in the very fine portion of
crushed clay aggregate and the product of cement hydration. [40]
It should be noted that the conducted analysis implies that there
is no significant impact of aggregate type so it will be disregarded in
further analysis. However, aggregate size parameter (fine or coarse)
will be included in further analysis for more accurate evaluation of
its effect. Based on this investigation and previously conducted test-
ing in [40], compressive strength that nearly equal to the compres-
sive strength of common concrete with natural aggregate may be
achieved in concrete with CB as the aggregate, taking into account
the 45% limit for coarse and 50% limit for fine particle fraction in
substitution of natural aggregate with CB aggregate.
4.2. Effect of cement amount
The cement content in RBAC can be up to 20% higher than its con-
tent in ordinary concrete with natural aggregate. Cement content in
RBAC depends on the type and composition of CB as aggregate. By
using fine and coarse CB aggregate, the required cement content
can be even higher than the aforementioned 20% [41]. This conclusion
can be adjusted according to the analysis with 100% replacement of
natural aggregate with RBAC. From the analysis presented in Fig. 11,
it can be concluded that for compressive strength of 33 MPa with nat-
ural aggregates (0% replacement) and cement amount of 350 kg/m3,
the same compressive strength can be achieved with total replace-
ment of 100% coarse aggregate and an increase of cement content of
approximately 420 kg/m3, which confirms the aforementioned
claim. However, for 100% fine aggregate replacement, increase of
cement content is only 9% (350 kg/m3 to 380 kg/m3 for 33 MPa).
To facilitate the direct influence of cement content on compres-
sive strength of RBAC, different amounts cement in the concrete
mixture were explored. Note that analysis was limited to values
of 350–450 kg/m3 in increments of 50 kg/m3. Qualitative results
(Fig. 11) indicate that 50 kg/m3 of cement causes an increase in
compressive strength up to 30%, regardless of the aggregate size
used (fine or coarse).
4.3. Effect of water-cement ratio
According to [42], differences in concrete strength for a given
water/cement (w/c) ratio can result from:

changes in the aggregate size, grading, surface texture, shape,
strength, or stiffness;

differences in types and sources of cementing materials;

entrained-air content;

the presence of admixtures;

the length of curing time.

70 70
Compressive strength (MPa)

Compressive strength (MPa)

60 60

50 50

40 40

30 30

20 20
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
% Recycled coarse aggregate: clay brick % Recycled fine aggregate: clay brick

Fig. 11. Effect of cement amount.

 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769 765

3 3

Compressive strength (MPa)

Compressive strength (MPa)

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
% Recycled coarse aggregate: clay brick
% Recycled fine aggregate: clay brick

Fig. 12. Effect of water-cement ratio.

Fig. 13. Model for compressive strength according to RBAC content for cement in the amount of 350 kg.

In this investigation, the w/c ratio varied from 0.4 to 0.6 with not control, the w/c ratio should be selected on the basis of con-
increments of 0.1. Modification of the w/c ratio is associated with a crete compressive strength. In such cases, the w/c ratio and mix-
change of the compressive strength value in the following way: an ture proportions for the required strength should be based on
increase from 0.4 to 0.5 reduces the compressive strength to an aver- adequate field data or trial mixtures made with actual job materi-
age of 9%, whereas next increment of 0.5 to 0.6 produces a an average als to determine the relationship between the ratio and strength.
reduction of 15% (Fig. 12). The strength of the cementitious paste The aim of the designer should always be to produce concrete mix-
binder in concrete depends on the quality and quantity of the react- tures of optimum strength at minimum cement content and
ing paste components and the degree to which the hydration reac- acceptable workability.
tion has progressed [43]. Concrete becomes stronger with time as Any mix design procedure provides a first approximation of
long as there is moisture and a favourable temperature. The strength the proportions and must be checked by trial batches. Consider-
at any particular age is a function of the original w/c ratio and the ing all conclusions from previous subsections, the contribution
degree to which the cementitious materials have hydrated. The of concrete components to RBAC compressive strength implies
importance of prompt and thorough curing is easily recognized. that their quantifying effects must be included in the process
A systematic decrease in compressive strength can be observed of defining a concrete mixture for required compressive
by increasing the w/c ratio due to the extra amount of added water strength. To facilitate easier application of all previous conclu-
in mixtures containing RBA in addition to the inferior strength of sions, a new model for defining concrete content is proposed.
CBA compared with natural aggregates [40], which is confirmed The model shown in Fig. 13 was produced by using 312 points
in this analysis. obtained by the reliable ANN model, processed with regression
with a minimum value of the square of the correlation coeffi-
4.4. Relation of compressive strength and proportioning RBAC mixtures cient of 0.85.
Once the w/c ratio is established and the workability required
Since most of the properties of hardened concrete depend pri- for the specific design is determined, the rest involves simple
marily upon the quality of the cement paste, the first step in pro- manipulation with diagrams and tables based on large numbers
portioning a concrete mixture is the selection of the appropriate of trial mixes. The diagram shown on Fig. 13 allow an estimation
w/c ratio for the strength and durability needed. Grading and nat- of the required proportions of RB aggregate, water, and cement
ure of aggregate particles are two characteristics that have an for the chosen compressive strength and permits predetermination
important influence on proportioning concrete mixtures because of small unrepresentative batches. Accordingly, for a w/c ratio of
they affect the workability of the fresh concrete. Within the normal 0.5 and replacement of 50% of coarse clay brick, expected compres-
range of strengths used in concrete construction, the compressive sive strength of RBAC is approximately 29 MPa. However, if we
strength is inversely related to the w/c ratio. When durability does want to achieve a specified RBAC compressive strength of
766 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769

32 MPa for cement content of 350 kg and w/c ratio of 0.5, it is nec-
essary to replace 25% of coarse clay brick according to the sug-
gested mix model. An extrapolation is recommended if required.
5. Conclusion
In this study, we tested ANNs as an alternative to classic exper-
imental tests for simulating material properties in concrete with
crushed brick and roof tile aggregate.
The results of this research indicate that compressive strength
of RBAC, presented with eight input parameters, can be reliably
predicted with neural networks, according to three-fold evaluation
and out of sample validation.
The contribution of concrete components to RBAC compressive
strength was verified by parametric analysis, which implied that
their quantifying effects must be included in the process of defin-
ing a concrete mixture for required compressive strength.
The beneficial results of this study include the following
conclusions:

the type of clay aggregate (brick or tile) can be neglected
because indicated results prove that both aggregate types
behave similarly;

aggregate size (fine or coarse) has a significant influence on RBAC
compressive strength: coarse aggregate would cause a decrease
in compressive strength value twice as high as fine aggregate;

cement content must be increased up to 20% to achieve the
same compressive strength of RBAC as concrete with natural
aggregates; an increase in cement amount is directly related
to the replacement ratio of RBA;

in contrast, the w/c ratio must be decreased to preserve the
same compressive strength because of the negative effect of
water in mixtures containing RBA, in addition to the inferior
strength of CBA compared with natural aggregates;

the replacement ratio of recycled clay aggregate is the most
important parameter as it directly affects RBAC compressive
strength by a decrease of up to 33%.
Compressive strength that is nearly equal to that of concrete
with natural aggregate can be achieved in concrete with CBA, tak-
ing into account the limits for coarse and fine particle fraction in
the substitution of natural aggregate with CB aggregate at approx-
imately 20% and 40%, respectively.
The focus of the current research is enhancement of neural net-
work models results and consequently, a new interpretation and
conceptualisation for theoretical advancement and practical
applied research for RBAC content. To facilitate easier application
of all previous conclusions, a new model for defining concrete con-
tent is proposed.
In regard to the large number of experimental investigations
that have evaluated only a small range of replacement ratios (most
of the studies have looked at 50% and 100%), results from this study
prove that additional experimental research is necessary for
replacement ratio of 0–50% with smaller increments. Subse-
quently, the proposed model for design mix can be confirmed or
improved.

Appendix
Data sources.

Author Year Sample Cement (kg) w/c CT1 0–4 CT 4–16 CB2 0–4 CB 4–16 NA3 0–4 NA 4–16 Fc28 (MPa)
Miličević [7] 2011 1 400 0.5 0 0 0 25 100 75 10.95
2 400 0.5 0 0 50 25 50 75 23.5
3 400 0.5 0 50 0 25 100 25 8.7
4 400 0.5 0 50 50 25 50 25 16.6
5 400 0.5 50 0 0 25 50 75 22.4
6 400 0.5 50 0 50 25 0 75 16.84
7 400 0.5 50 50 0 25 50 25 18.8
8 400 0.5 50 50 50 25 0 25 9.6
9 300 0.5 25 25 0 0 75 75 15.5
10 300 0.5 25 25 0 50 75 25 15.27
11 300 0.5 25 25 50 0 25 75 20
12 300 0.5 25 25 50 50 25 25 10.84
13 500 0.5 25 25 0 0 75 75 54.5
14 500 0.5 25 25 0 50 75 25 28.4
15 500 0.5 25 25 50 0 25 75 45.2
16 500 0.5 25 25 50 50 25 25 25.4
17 400 0.4 25 0 25 0 50 100 61.75
18 400 0.4 25 0 25 50 50 50 23.07
19 400 0.4 25 50 25 0 50 50 23.32
20 400 0.4 25 50 25 50 50 0 14.83
21 400 0.6 25 0 25 0 50 100 26
22 400 0.6 25 0 25 50 50 50 21.13
23 400 0.6 25 50 25 0 50 50 27.53
24 400 0.6 25 50 25 50 50 0 16.74
25 300 0.4 0 25 25 25 75 50 46.43
26 300 0.4 50 25 25 25 25 50 21.33
27 300 0.6 0 25 25 25 75 50 17.25
28 300 0.6 50 25 25 25 25 50 13.05
29 500 0.4 0 25 25 25 75 50 41.33
30 500 0.4 50 25 25 25 25 50 46
31 500 0.6 0 25 25 25 75 50 43.75
32 500 0.6 50 25 25 25 25 50 33.15
33 400 0.5 0 25 25 0 75 75 9.97
34 400 0.5 0 25 25 50 75 25 24.43
35 400 0.5 50 25 25 0 25 75 34.8
 T. Kalman Šipoš et al. / Construction and Building Materials 148 (2017) 757–769 767

Appendix (continued)

Author Year Sample Cement (kg) w/c CT1 0–4 CT 4–16 CB2 0–4 CB 4–16 NA3 0–4 NA 4–16 Fc28 (MPa)
36 400 0.5 50 25 25 50 25 25 42.24
37 400 0.5 0 25 25 0 75 75 37.6
38 400 0.5 0 25 25 50 75 25 22.4
39 400 0.5 50 25 25 0 25 75 32
40 400 0.5 50 25 25 50 25 25 16.82
41 300 0.5 25 0 25 25 50 75 21
42 300 0.5 25 50 25 25 50 25 23.97
43 300 0.5 25 0 25 25 50 75 18.04
44 300 0.5 25 50 25 25 50 25 9.04
45 500 0.5 25 0 25 25 50 75 29.8
46 500 0.5 25 50 25 25 50 25 26.13
47 500 0.5 25 0 25 25 50 75 32.13
48 500 0.5 25 50 25 25 50 25 40.3
49 400 0.4 25 25 0 25 75 50 43.8
50 400 0.4 25 25 50 25 25 50 44.8
51 400 0.4 25 25 0 25 75 50 33
52 400 0.4 25 25 50 25 25 50 15.34
53 400 0.6 25 25 0 25 75 50 20.65
54 400 0.6 25 25 50 25 25 50 25.16
55 400 0.6 25 25 0 25 75 50 47.75
56 400 0.6 25 25 50 25 25 50 27.97
57 400 0.5 25 25 25 25 50 50 19.28
58 400 0.5 25 25 25 25 50 50 28.05
59 400 0.5 25 25 25 25 50 50 20.7
60 400 0.5 25 25 25 25 50 50 23.08
61 400 0.5 25 25 25 25 50 50 22.53
Author Year Sample Cement (kg) w/c CT 0–4 CT 4–16 CB 0–4 CB 4–16 NA 0–4 NA 4–16 Fc28 (MPa)
Miličević [7] 2011 62 400 0.5 25 25 25 25 50 50 26.15
Debieb & Kenai [1] 2008 C0/0 350 0.61 0 0 0 0 100 100 30.62
C0/25 350 0.69 0 0 25 0 75 100 28.21
C0/50 350 0.77 0 0 50 0 50 100 26.73
C0/75 350 0.85 0 0 75 0 25 100 25.82
C0/100 350 0.93 0 0 100 0 0 100 22.35
C50/50 350 0.75 0 0 50 50 50 50 21.51
C100/100 350 0.89 0 0 100 100 0 0 18.26
C+100/100 350 0.86 0 0 100 100 0 0 21.23
C75/25 350 0.66 0 0 25 75 75 25 21.25
C100/50 350 0.72 0 0 50 100 50 0 20.73
C25/75 350 0.85 0 0 75 25 25 75 23.13
C50/100 350 1.08 0 0 50 100 50 0 19.56
Khalaf & DeVenny [3] 2004 M1 G 350.35 0.55 0 0 0 0 100 100 45.7
M1 O 329.47 0.55 0 0 0 100 100 0 37.6
M1 O+ 345.95 0.55 0 0 0 100 100 0 46.7
M2 G 498.64 0.4 0 0 0 0 100 100 66.8
M2 O 453.13 0.4 0 0 0 100 100 0 53.8
M2 O+ 480.63 0.4 0 0 0 100 100 0 66.7
M3 G 418.55 0.43 0 0 0 0 100 100 42.7
M3 O 384.27 0.43 0 0 0 100 100 0 38.8
M3 O+ 402.35 0.43 0 0 0 100 100 0 44.2
Rühl & Atkinson [4] 1999 NZ 320 0.55 0 0 0 0 100 100 35.39
ZI 320 0.55 0 0 0 100 100 0 32.99
Khatib [6] 2005 control 325 0.5 0 0 0 0 100 100 46.7
CB 25 319 0.5 0 0 25 0 75 100 39.2
CB 50 314 0.5 0 0 50 0 50 100 37.7
CB 75 307 0.5 0 0 75 0 25 100 36.1
CB 100 303 0.5 0 0 100 0 0 100 33.2
Cachim [2] 2009 NN 45 400 0.45 0 0 0 0 100 100 36.2
NA 45 400 0.45 0 0 0 15 100 85 32.1
NB 45 400 0.45 0 0 0 15 100 85 38.5
AA 45 400 0.45 0 0 0 30 100 70 27.6
BB 45 400 0.45 0 0 0 30 100 70 32.3
NN 50 400 0.5 0 0 0 0 100 100 30.5
NA 50 400 0.5 0 0 0 15 100 85 29.4
NB 50 400 0.5 0 0 0 15 100 85 32.3
AA 50 400 0.5 0 0 0 30 100 70 24.5
BB 50 400 0.5 0 0 0 30 100 70 29
Poon et all [8] 2007 Mix 1 410 0.55 0 0 0 0 100 100 53.8
Mix 2 410 0.55 0 0 20 0 80 100 47.2
Mix 3 410 0.55 20 0 0 0 80 100 45.5
Poon et all [9] 2007 control 526.76 0.41 0 0 100 100 0 0 80.5
10 T 489.76 0.49 10 10 0 0 90 90 65.6
5T5B 491.49 0.49 5 5 5 5 90 90 62.4
Topcu & Canbaz [5] 2007 4B4G2T 493.98 0.49 2 2 8 8 90 90 66.2
K300_0 300 0.63 0 0 0 0 100 100 21.63

(continued on next page)

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Appendix (continued)

Author Year Sample Cement (kg) w/c CT1 0–4 CT 4–16 CB2 0–4 CB 4–16 NA3 0–4 NA 4–16 Fc28 (MPa)
K300_50 300 0.63 50 50 0 0 50 50 15
K300_100 300 0.63 100 100 0 0 0 0 14.23
K350_0 350 0.54 0 0 0 0 100 100 27.15
K350_50 350 0.54 50 50 0 0 50 50 27.95
K350_100 350 0.54 100 100 0 0 0 0 19.81
K400_0 400 0.48 0 0 0 0 100 100 36.5
K400_50 400 0.48 50 50 0 0 50 50 30.12
K400_100 400 0.48 100 100 0 0 0 0 22.16
I300_0 300 0.63 0 0 0 0 100 100 26.32
I300_50 300 0.63 50 50 0 0 50 50 25.71
I300_100 300 0.63 100 100 0 0 0 0 15.13
I350_0 350 0.54 0 0 0 0 100 100 36.12
I350_50 350 0.54 50 50 0 0 50 50 27.36
I350_100 350 0.54 100 100 0 0 0 0 21.71
I400_0 400 0.48 0 0 0 0 100 100 36.23
I400_50 400 0.48 50 50 0 0 50 50 34.12
I400_100 400 0.48 100 100 0 0 0 0 31.65
Alibdo et all [10] 2014 I_1 350 0.5 0 0 0 0 100 100 33.6
Aliabdo et all [10] 2014 I_2 350 0.5 0 0 25 0 75 100 36.5
I_3 350 0.5 0 0 50 0 50 100 34.6
I_4 350 0.5 0 0 75 0 25 100 32.1
I_5 350 0.5 0 0 100 0 0 100 27.6
I_6 350 0.5 0 0 0 25 100 75 34.2
I_7 350 0.5 0 0 0 50 100 50 33.6
I_8 350 0.5 0 0 0 75 100 25 25.8
I_9 350 0.5 0 0 0 100 100 0 22.3
I_10 350 0.5 0 0 50 50 50 50 29.6
I_11 350 0.5 0 0 100 100 0 0 23.8
II_14 250 0.7 0 0 0 0 100 100 22.5
II_15 250 0.7 0 0 25 0 75 100 23.4
II_16 250 0.7 0 0 50 0 50 100 21.9
II_17 250 0.7 0 0 75 0 25 100 23.1
II_18 250 0.7 0 0 100 0 0 100 15.9
II_19 250 0.7 0 0 0 25 100 75 22.3
II_20 250 0.7 0 0 0 50 100 50 22.1
II_21 250 0.7 0 0 0 75 100 25 18.6
II_22 250 0.7 0 0 0 100 100 0 16.2
II_23 250 0.7 0 0 50 50 50 50 22.3
II_24 250 0.7 0 0 100 100 0 0 15.5
1
CT – crushed tile;
2
CB – crushed brick;
3
NA – natural aggregate.

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