Optimizing the prediction accuracy of load-settlement behavior of single pile using a self-learning data mining approach

Pile foundations usually are used when the upper soil layers are soft clay and, hence, unable to support the structures’ loads. Piles are needed to carry these loads deep into the hard soil layer. Therefore, the safety and stability of pile-supported structures depends on the behavior of the piles. Additionally, an accurate prediction of the piles’ behavior is very important to ensure satisfactory performance of the structures. Although many methods in the literature estimate the settlement of the piles both theoretically and experimentally, methods for comprehensively predicting the load-settlement of piles are very limited. This study develops a new data mining approach called self-learning support vector machine (SL-SVM) to predict the load-settlement behavior of single piles. SL-SVM performance is investigated using 446 training data points and 53 test data points of cone penetration test (CPT) data obtained from the previous literature. The actual prediction accuracy is then compared to other prediction methods using three statistical measurements, including mean absolute error (MAE), coefficient of correlation (R), and root mean square error (RMSE). The obtained results show that SL-SVM achieves better accuracy than does LS-SVM and BPNN. This confirms the capability of the proposed data mining method to model the accurate load-settlement behavior of single piles through CPT data. The paper proposes beneficial insights for geotechnical engineers involved in estimating pile behavior.