AI-Enabled Sustainable Soil Stabilization for Resilient Urban Infrastructure: Advancing SDG 9 and SDG 12 through Hybrid Deep Learning and Environmental Assessment
Ishwor Thapa, Sufyan Ghani
Abstract
Urban areas face increasing challenges in constructing resilient infrastructure on weak or unstable soils, especially amid the impacts of climate change and rapid urbanization. This study introduces an innovative AI-driven framework that integrates advanced hybrid deep learning architectures namely Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and Transformer models for accurately predicting the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of Nano-silica (NS) stabilized soils. A key innovation of this research lies in the development of a novel CNN-Transformer hybrid model, which outperforms traditional and standalone AI models, achieving an R2 of 0.97 and RMSE of 0.22 reducing prediction error by over 49%. Robustness was further validated using a 10,000-iteration Monte Carlo simulation. In addition to predictive modeling, this study pioneers a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) between NS and cement-based stabilization, revealing that NS reduces CO₂ emissions by 55%, lowers energy consumption by 73%, and improves material efficiency. Furthermore, a user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool has been developed, enabling real-time optimization of NS dosage for practical implementation in urban projects. This research not only contributes a high-performance predictive tool but also supports sustainable construction practices, aligning with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).