GA-Based Optimization of Normal Weight Concrete Compressive Strength with Maranta Arundinacea

One of the notable innovations in the field of concrete technology is the development of chemical admixtures as an effective enhancer of concrete properties. However, it is acknowledged recently the harmful environmental and health impacts of these chemical admixtures, thus, paving the way to utilize sustainable green alternatives such as starch-based organic admixtures. In the case of the Philippines, arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) is an agricultural crop considered as one of the common sources of starch. Hence, making arrowroot a potential commercializes concrete admixture. The present study explored through optimization the applicability of arrowroot starch as organic admixture intended to improve the compressive strength of normal weight concrete. The study generally aimed to apply the Genetic Algorithm (GA) to optimize the amount of arrowroot starch along with the other variables such as curing time and water-cement ratio. Furthermore, GA was able to generalize the compressive strength optimization of normal weight concrete at f'c=67 MPa. Moreover, the GA optimization validated the sensitivity of predictor variables particularly the percentage content of arrowroot starch (<; 1$%) in the improvement of compressive strength.