Settlement of Shallow Foundations on Cohesionless Soils Based on SPT Value Using Multi-Objective Feature Selection

Accurate prediction of settlement for shallow footings on cohesionless soil is a complex geotechnical problem due to large uncertainties associated with soil. Prediction of the settlement of shallow footings on cohesionless soil is based on in situ tests as it is difficult to find out the properties of soil in the laboratory and standard penetration test (SPT) is the most often used in situ test. In data driven modelling, it is very difficult to choose the optimal input parameters, which will govern the model efficiency along with a better generalization. Feature subset selection involves minimization of both prediction error and the number of features, which are in general mutual conflicting objectives. In this study, a multi-objective optimization technique is used, where a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA II) is combined with a learning algorithm (neural network) to develop a prediction model based on SPT data based on the Pareto optimal front. Pareto optimal front gives the user freedom to choose a model in terms of accuracy and model complexity. It is also shown how NSGA II can be effectively applied to select the optimal parameters and besides minimizing the error rate. The developed model is compared with existing models in terms of different statistical criteria and found to be more efficient.