• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.521-535
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• 2016

A Harmony Search (HS) and Genetic Algorithms (GA), two powerful metaheuristic search techniques, are used for minimum weight designs of different truss structures by selecting suitable profile sections from a specified list taken from American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). A computer program is coded in MATLAB interacting with SAP2000-OAPI to obtain solution of design problems. The stress constraints according to AISC-ASD (Allowable Stress Design) and displacement constraints are considered for optimum designs. Three different truss structures such as bridge, dome and tower structures taken from literature are designed and the results are compared with the ones available in literature. The results obtained from the solutions for truss structures show that optimum designs by these techniques are very similar to the literature results and HS method usually provides more economical solutions in multi-element truss problems.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.1 no.1 s.1
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• pp.143-155
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• 2001

Generally, truss design has been determined by the designer's experience and intuition. But if we perform the most economical structural design we must consider not only cross-sections of members but also configurations(howe, warren and pratt types etc.) of single truss as the number of panel and truss height. The purpose of this study is to develope automated optimum design techniques for steel truss structures considering cross-sections of members and shape of trusses simultaneously. As the results, it could be possible to find easily the optimum solutions subject to design conditions at the preliminary structural design stage of the steel truss structures. In this study, the objective function is expressed as the whole member weight of trusses, and the applied constraints are as stresses, slenderness ratio, local buckling, deflection, member cross-sectional dimensions and truss height etc. The automated optimum design algorithm of this study is divided into three-level procedures. The first level on member cross-sectional optimization is performed by the sequential unconstrained minimization technique(SUMT) using dynamic programming method. And the second level about truss height optimization is applied for obtaining the optimum truss height by three-equal interval search method. The last level of optimization is applied for obtaining the optimum panel number of truss by integer programming method. The algorithm of multi-level optimization programming technique proposed in this study is more helpful for the economical design of plane trusses as well as space trusses.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.77-85
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• 2011

In this study, micro genetic algorithm is used to find an optimum cross section of grid structures with pretension. Design optimization of trusses consists of arriving at optimum sizes of cross-section and prestressing force parameters, when weight of the truss is minimum, satisfying a set of specified constraints. The present approach is verified by ten-bar truss example showing good agreements with previous results. Features of the proposed method, which help in modeling and application to optimal design of pretensioned truss structures, are demonstrated by solving a problem of seventy two bar truss structures. The minimum weight design of seventy two bar truss is performed for various magnitudes of pretension and optimal prestressing forces are also found for various configurations of pretensioned truss structures.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1995.10a
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• pp.9-16
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• 1995

This study presents the applicable possibility of numerical optimization and Genetic Algorithm in the design of truss structures using discrete variables and real constraints. The introduction of Genetic Algorithm in the design of truss structures enables us to do easier formulation and handle discrete variables. To investigate these applicable possibility, the design of 15 - bar truss structures has been studied using GT/STRUDL and Genetic Algorithm and the results of Genetic Algorithm are compared with GT/STRUDL's.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.6
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• pp.799-821
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• 2020

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.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.393-404
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• 2004

The design of truss type sign support structures is based on the guidelines provided by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Standard Specifications for Highway Signs, Luminaries and Traffic Signals and the American Institute of Steel Construction Design Specifications. Using these specifications, the column design strength is normally determined using the effective length approach. This approach does not always accurately address all issues associated with frame stability, including the actual end conditions of the individual members, variations of the loads in the members, and the resulting sidesway buckling for truss type sign support structures. This paper provides insight into the problems with the simplified design approach for determining the effective lengths and discusses different approaches for overcoming these simplifications. A system buckling approach, also known as a rational buckling analysis, is used in this study to determine improved predictions for design strength of truss type sign support structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.543-554
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• 1998

Space truss structures may be fabricated in any of several common grid configurations. With different configurations, the truss performance varies considerably affecting both its competitiveness and suitability for specific applications. The work presented in this paper is an assessment of the most commonly adopted truss configurations and their effect on truss characteristics such as the stiffness/weight value, member stress distribution, number of joints and members, degree of redundancy and cost. The study is parametric and covers wide variations of truss aspect ratios, boundary conditions and span/depth ratios. The results of this study could be of significant value to the design of space truss structures.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.5 no.3 s.17
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• pp.117-122
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• 2005

This paper investigated the optimum design of truss structures based on Genetic Algorithms (GA's). With GA's characteristic of running side by side, the overall optimization and feasible operation, the optimum design model of truss structures was established. Elite models were used to assure that the best units of the previous generation had access to the evolution of current generation. Using of non-uniformity mutation brought the obvious mutation at earlier stage and stable mutation in the later stage; this benefited the convergence of units to the best result. In addition, to avoid GA's drawback of converging to local optimization easily, by the limit value of each variable was changed respectively and the genetic operation was performed two times, so the program could work more efficiently and obtained more precise results. Finally, by simulating evolution process of nature biology of a kind self-organize, self-organize, artificial intelligence, this paper established continuous structural optimization model for ten bars cantilever truss, and obtained satisfactory result of optimum design. This paper further explained that structural optimization is practicable with GA's, and provided the theoretic basis for the GA's optimum design of structural engineering.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.73-92
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• 1987

Formulation of the geometric optimization for truss structures based on the elasticity theory turn out to be the nonlinear programming problem which has to deal with the cross-sectional area of the member and the coordinates of its nodes simultaneously. A few techniques have been proposed and adopted for the analysis of this nonlinear programming problem for the time being. These techniques, however, bear some limitations on truss shapes, loading conditions and design criteria for the practical application to real structures. A generalized algorithm for the geometric optimization of the truss structures, which can eliminate the above mentioned limitations, is developed in this study. The algorithm proposed utilizes the two-levels technique. In the first level which consists of two phases, the cross-sectional area of the truss member is optimized by transforming the nonlinear problem into SUMT, and solving SUMT utilizing the modified Newton Raphson method. In the second level, which also consists of two phases the geometric shape is optimized utillzing the unindirectional search technique of the Powell method which make it possible to minimize only the objective functlon. The algorithm proposed in this study is numerically tested for several truss structures with various shapes, loading conditions and design criteria, and compared with the results of the other algorithms to examine its applicability and stability. The numerical comparisons show that the two- levels algorithm proposed in this study is safely applicable to any design criteria, and the convergency rate is relatively fast and stable compared with other iteration methods for the geometric optimization of truss structures. It was found for the result of the shape optimization in this study to be decreased greatly in the weight of truss structures in comparison with the shape optimization of the truss utilizing the algorithm proposed with the other area optimum method.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.69-78
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• 2018

In current research, it was attempted a preliminary design and evaluation of non-uniform ultra high-strength concrete (UHSC) truss members. UHSC used here has the compressive strength of 180 MPa, the tensile strength of 8 to 20 MPa, and the tensile strain after cracks up to 2%. By the three-dimensional finite element stress analysis as well as strut-tie approach on concrete solid beams, the non-uniform truss shape of UHSC truss was designed with the architectural esthetic concept. In a series of examples, to compare with conventional concrete members, the proposed UHSC truss members have advantages in capabilities of the slender design with minimum weight with high performances under transverse loadings as well as the aesthetically non-uniform design for spatial structures.