Bridging the gap between mathematical optimization and structural engineering: Design, experiments and numerical simulation of optimized concrete girders

Concrete, as the most widely used construction material, is associated with a high environmental impact. Within the present study, structural optimization is the method of choice to counter this issue. The entire process, from optimization, to design, experiments and numerical simulation is outlined. Embedded in the framework of a design...

Optimization-based strut-and-tie model generation for reinforced concrete structures under multiple load conditions

Strut-and-Tie modelling (STM) has been widely applied to design D-regions of reinforced concrete structures. For economic and environmental reasons there is a need for optimized Strut-and-Tie models. How to optimize Strut-and-Tie models considering multiple load combinations has not been investigated extensively in the literature. In order to...

Automated optimization-based generation and quantitative evaluation of Strut-and-Tie models

Strut-and-Tie modelling (STM) is a well-known approach to design D-regions in reinforced concrete structures. Because the STM method is based on lower-bound analysis, finding a suitable truss-analogy model is the most important aspect to guarantee good structural and economic performance of a resulting design. Continuum topology optimization ...

Simultaneous optimization of shape and topology of free-form shells based on uniform parameterization model

In current optimization methods for free-form shells, the shape and topology are usually optimized separately. These methods are based on the assumption that the shape and topology of a shell influence each other only slightly, but this is not always correct. Moreover, different parameterization models are used in the shape optimization and...

Direct gradient projection method with transformation of variables technique for structural topology optimization

This paper proposes an efficient and reliable topology optimization method that can obtain a black and white solution with a low objective function value within a few tens of iterations. First of all, a transformation of variables technique is adopted to eliminate the constraints on the design variables. After that, the optimization problem is...