Optimum design of shape and size of truss structures via a new approximation method

Hosein Ahmadvand | Alireza Habibi

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URL :   http://research.shahed.ac.ir/WSR/WebPages/Report/PaperView.aspx?PaperID=148242
Date :  2020/12/15
Publish in :    Structural Engineering and Mechanics


Keywords :consistent approximation; shape optimization; size optimization; truss structures

Abstract :

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The optimum design of truss structures is one of the significant categories in structural optimization that has widely been applied by researchers. In the present study, new mathematical programming called Consistent Approximation (CONAP) method is utilized for the simultaneous optimization of the size and shape of truss structures. The CONAP algorithm has already been introduced to optimize some structures and functions. In the CONAP algorithm, some important parameters are designed by employing design sensitivities to enhance the capability of the method and its consistency in various optimum design problems, especially structural optimization. The cross-sectional area of the bar elements and the nodal coordinates of the truss are assumed to be the size and shape design variables, respectively. The displacement, allowable stress and the Euler buckling stress are taken as the design constraints for the problem. In the proposed method, the primary optimization problem is replaced with a sequence of explicit sub-problems. Each sub-problem is efficiently solved using the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm. Several truss structures are designed by employing the CONAP method to illustrate the efficiency of the algorithm for simultaneous shape and size optimization. The optimal solutions are compared with some of the mathematical programming algorithms, the approximation methods and metaheuristic algorithms those reported in the literature. Results demonstrate that the accuracy of the optimization is improved and the convergence rate speeds up.