Prediction of moisture content of cement-stabilized earth blocks using soil characteristics, cement content, and ultrasonic pulse velocity

Abstract This article investigates the importance of moisture content in cement-stabilized earth blocks (CSEBs) and explores methods for their prediction using machine learning. A key aspect of the research is the development of accurate moisture content prediction models. The study compares the performance of various machine learning models, and XGBoost emerges as the most promising model, demonstrating superior accuracy in predicting moisture content based on factors like soil properties, cement content, and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV). The study employs SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) to understand how these features influence the model’s predictions. UPV is the most significant factor affecting predicted moisture content, followed by cement content and soil properties like uniformity coefficient. Also, the study explores the possibility of using a reduced set of features for moisture content prediction. They demonstrate that a combination of UPV, cement content, and uniformity coefficient can achieve good accuracy, highlighting the potential for practical applications where obtaining all data points might be challenging.