Structural Optimization : Fundamentals and Applications

This book was developed while teaching a graduate course at several universities in the United States. Europe and Israel. during the last two decades. The purpose of the book is to introduce the fundamentals and applications of optimum structural design. Much work has been done in this area recently and many studies have been published. The book is an attempt to collect together selected topics of this literature and to present them in a unified approach. It meets the need for an introductory text covering the basic concepts of modem structural optimization. A previous book by the author on this subject ("Optimum Structural Design". published by McGraw-Hill New York in 1981 and by Maruzen Tokyo in 1983). has been used extensively as a text in many universities throughout the world. The present book reflects the rapid progress and recent developments in this area. A major difficulty in studying structural optimization is that integration of concepts used in several areas. such as structural analysis. numerical optimization and engineering design. is necessary in order to solve a specific problem. To facilitate the study of these topics. the book discusses in detail alternative problem formulations. the fundamentals of different optimization methods and various considerations related to structural design. The advantages and the limitations of the presented approaches are illustrated by numerous examples. The purpose of this book is to introduce the fundamentals, methods and applications of structural optimization. Much work has been done and many studies have been published on structural optimization in recent years. The book is an attempt to collect together selected topics of this literature and to present them in a unified approach. It meets the need for an introductory text covering the various aspects associated with this area. This should prove useful to both the student and the practising structural engineer. The book discusses in detail various problem formulations, relative merit of different optimization methods and considerations related to practical applications. The emphasis throughout is on approximation concepts, which are essential in the solutionof may practical design problems, and on multistage design procedures where various methods are combined ti solve the overall design problem. The advantages as well as the limitations of the various problem formulations, solution methods and design procedures are discussed and illustrated by a variety of examples Front Matter....Pages I-XII Problem Statement....Pages 1-56 Optimization Methods....Pages 57-124 Approximation Concepts....Pages 125-177 Design Procedures....Pages 179-291 Back Matter....Pages 293-302