• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.54 no.6
• /
• pp.1097-1109
• /
• 2015

A novel optimization approach for reinforced concrete (RC) biaxially loaded columns is proposed. Since there are several design constraints and influences, a new computation methodology using iterative analyses for several stages is proposed. In the proposed methodology random iterations are combined with music inspired metaheuristic algorithm called harmony search by modifying the classical rules of the employed algorithm for the problem. Differently from previous approaches, a detailed and practical optimum reinforcement design is done in addition to optimization of dimensions. The main objective of the optimization is the total material cost and the optimization is important for RC members since steel and concrete are very different materials in cost and properties. The methodology was applied for 12 cases of flexural moment combinations. Also, the optimum results are found by using 3 different axial forces for all cases. According to the results, the proposed method is effective to find a detailed optimum result with different number of bars and various sizes which can be only found by 2000 trial of an engineer. Thus, the cost economy is provided by using optimum bars with different sizes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.289-303
• /
• 2015

This study presents a strategy so-called Subspace Search Mechanism (SSM) for reducing the computational time for convergence of population based metaheusristic algorithms. The selected metaheuristic for this study is the Cuckoo Search algorithm (CS) dealing with size optimization of trusses. The complexity of structural optimization problems can be partially due to the presence of high-dimensional design variables. SSM approach aims to reduce dimension of the problem. Design variables are categorized to predefined groups (subspaces). SSM focuses on the multiple use of the metaheuristic at hand for each subspace. Optimizer updates the design variables for each subspace independently. Updating rules require candidate designs evaluation. Each candidate design is the assemblage of responsible set of design variables that define the subspace of interest. SSM is incorporated to the Cuckoo Search algorithm for size optimizing of three small, moderate and large space trusses. Optimization results indicate that SSM enables the CS to work with less number of population (42%), as a result reducing the time of convergence, in exchange for some accuracy (1.5%). It is shown that the loss of accuracy can be lessened with increasing the order of complexity. This suggests its applicability to other algorithms and other complex finite element-based engineering design problems.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.37-47
• /
• 2023

Indirect determination of pan evaporation (PE) has been highly regarded, due to the advantages of intelligent models employed for this objective. This work pursues improving the reliability of a popular intelligent model, namely multi-layer perceptron (MLP) through surmounting its computational knots. Available climatic data of Fresno weather station (California, USA) is used for this study. In the first step, testing several most common trainers of the MLP revealed the superiority of the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm. It, therefore, is considered as the classical training approach. Next, the optimum configurations of two metaheuristic algorithms, namely cuttlefish optimization algorithm (CFOA) and teaching-learning-based optimization (TLBO) are incorporated to optimally train the MLP. In these two models, the LM is replaced with metaheuristic strategies. Overall, the results demonstrated the high competency of the MLP (correlations above 0.997) in the presence of all three strategies. It was also observed that the TLBO enhances the learning and prediction accuracy of the classical MLP (by nearly 7.7% and 9.2%, respectively), while the CFOA performed weaker than LM. Moreover, a comparison between the efficiency of the used metaheuristic optimizers showed that the TLBO is a more time-effective technique for predicting the PE. Hence, it can serve as a promising approach for indirect PE analysis.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.441-453
• /
• 2017

In this paper, a new type of weapon-target assignment(WTA) problem has been suggested that reflects realistic constraints for sharing target with other weapons and shooting double rapid fire. To utilize in rapidly changing actual battle field, the computation time is of great importance. Several metaheuristic methods such as Simulated Annealing, Tabu Search, Genetic Algorithm, Ant Colony Optimization, and Particle Swarm Optimization have been applied to the real-time WTA in order to find a near optimal solution. A case study with a large number of targets in consideration of the practical cases has been analyzed by the objective value of each algorithm.

• Coupled systems mechanics
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.1-19
• /
• 2024

The effectiveness of coupling with a bolted rim is assessed in this research using a newly designed optimization algorithm. The current study, which is provided here, evaluates 10 contemporary metaheuristic approaches for enhancing the coupling with bolted rim design problem. The algorithms used are particle swarm optimization (PSO), crow search algorithm (CSA), enhanced honeybee mating optimization (EHBMO), Harmony search algorithm (HSA), Krill heard algorithm (KHA), Pattern search algorithm (PSA), Charged system search algorithm (CSSA), Salp swarm algorithm (SSA), Big bang big crunch optimization (B-BBBCO), Gradient based Algorithm (GBA). The contribution of the paper isto optimize the coupling with bolted rim problem by comparing these 10 algorithms and to find which algorithm gives the best optimized result. These algorithm's performance is evaluated statistically and subjectively.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.47 no.6
• /
• pp.759-779
• /
• 2023

The paper proposes two hybrid metaheuristic optimization and artificial neural network (ANN) methods for the close prediction of the ultimate axial compressive capacity of concentrically loaded concrete filled double skin steel tube (CFDST) columns. Two metaheuristic optimization, namely genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), approaches enable the dynamic training architecture underlying an ANN model by optimizing the number and sizes of hidden layers as well as the weights and biases of the neurons, simultaneously. The former is termed as GA-ANN, and the latter as PSO-ANN. These techniques utilize the gradient-based optimization with Bayesian regularization that enhances the optimization process. The proposed GA-ANN and PSO-ANN methods construct the predictive ANNs from 125 available experimental datasets and present the superior performance over standard ANNs. Both the hybrid GA-ANN and PSO-ANN methods are encoded within a user-friendly graphical interface that can reliably map out the accurate ultimate axial compressive capacity of CFDST columns with various geometry and material parameters.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.263-275
• /
• 2020

This research is dedicated to slope stability analysis using novel intelligent models. By coupling a neural network with spotted hyena optimizer (SHO), salp swarm algorithm (SSA), shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA), and league champion optimization algorithm (LCA) metaheuristic algorithms, four predictive ensembles are built for predicting the factor of safety (FOS) of a single-layer cohesive soil slope. The data used to develop the ensembles are provided from a vast finite element analysis. After creating the proposed models, it was observed that the best population size for the SHO, SSA, SFLA, and LCA is 300, 400, 400, and 200, respectively. Evaluation of the results showed that the combination of metaheuristic and neural approaches offers capable tools for estimating the FOS. However, the SSA (error = 0.3532 and correlation = 0.9937), emerged as the most reliable optimizer, followed by LCA (error = 0.5430 and correlation = 0.9843), SFLA (error = 0.8176 and correlation = 0.9645), and SHO (error = 2.0887 and correlation = 0.8614). Due to the high accuracy of the SSA in properly adjusting the computational parameters of the neural network, the corresponding FOS predictive formula is presented to be used as a fast yet accurate substitution for traditional methods.

• Proceedings of the Korean Operations and Management Science Society Conference
• /
• 2008.10a
• /
• pp.308-311
• /
• 2008

The ant colony optimization (ACO) is a metaheuristic inspired by the behavior of real ants. Recently, ACO has been widely used to solve the difficult combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, we propose an ACO algorithm to solve the two disjoint paths problem with dual link cost structure (TDPDCP). We propose a dual pheromone structure and a procedure for solution construction which is appropriate for the TDPDCP. Computational comparisons with the state-of-the-arts algorithms are also provided.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.681-701
• /
• 2014

The main aim of this study is to propose an efficient meta-heuristic algorithm for topology optimization of geometrically nonlinear single layer domes by serially integration of computational advantages of firefly algorithm (FA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). During the optimization process, the optimum number of rings, the optimum height of crown and tubular section of the member groups are determined considering geometric nonlinear behaviour of the domes. In the proposed algorithm, termed as FA-PSO, in the first stage an optimization process is accomplished using FA to explore the design space then, in the second stage, a local search is performed using PSO around the best solution found by FA. The optimum designs obtained by the proposed algorithm are compared with those reported in the literature and it is demonstrated that the FA-PSO converges to better solutions spending less computational cost emphasizing on the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.527-536
• /
• 2020

The paper represents an optimization algorithm for reinforced concrete retaining wall design. The proposed method, called Rao-3 optimization algorithm, is a recently developed algorithm. The total weight of the steel and concrete, which are used for constructing the retaining wall, were chosen as the objective function. Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-05) and Rankine's theory for lateral earth pressure were considered for structural and geotechnical design, respectively. Number of the design variables are 12. Eight of those express the geometrical dimensions of the wall and four of those express the steel reinforcement of the wall. The safety against overturning, sliding and bearing capacity failure were regarded as the geotechnical constraints. The safety against bending and shear failure, minimum and maximum areas of reinforcement, development lengths of steel reinforcement were regarded as structural constraints. The performance of proposed algorithm was evaluated with two design examples.