Practical Applications of Structural Optimization

Research in automated structural optimization has been actively conducted in the United States for two decades. This paper attempts a critical review of this activity and examines some examples of sucessful applications in civil engineering design. The question of fully stressed versus mathematical programming approach to proportioning the force distribution in a structure, which has received much research attention, is placed in proper perspective. The emphasis in this paper is on methods and programs applicable to the design of structural elements with a criterion that the program be economically attractive for use. Examples include welded box girders, wide-flange beams and columns, gabled frames, reinforced concrete beams, shear walls, continuous highway bridge girders, and pile foundations. A distinction is made between design problems for which mathematical programming tools are directly applicable and those for which heuristic or intuitive design schemes must be augmented.