Development of Group Method of Data Handling based on Genetic Algorithm to predict incipient motion in rigid rectangular storm water channel

Sediment transport is a commonly occurring vital process in fluvial and coastal environments, and “incipient motion” is an issue inseparably bound to this topic. In this study, the existing equations were first examined by use of three different sources of experimental data through statistical indexes. The powerful method of Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) was used for estimating the densimetric Froude number (Fr) and the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) method was used to compute the leaner coefficient vectors. A novel equation is proposed, devolved through utilizing a combination of coding methods including GMDH and genetic algorithms. The studies conducted indicate that the presented equation is fairly accurate (RMSE= 0.19 & MAPE= 7%) in predicting incipient motion.