• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.19 no.1 s.71
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• pp.27-37
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• 2006

A Metropolis genetic algorithm (MGA) is developed and applied for the structural design optimization. In MGA, favorable features of Metropolis criterion of simulated annealing (SA) are incorporated in the reproduction operations of simple genetic algorithm (SGA). This way, the MGA maintains the wide varieties of individuals and preserves the potential genetic information of early generations. Consequently, the proposed MGA alleviates the disadvantages of premature convergence to a local optimum in SGA and time consuming computation for the precise global optimum in SA. Performances and applicability of MGA are compared with those of conventional algorithms such as Holland's SGA, Krishnakumar's micro GA, and Kirkpatrick's SA. Typical numerical examples are used to evaluate the computational performances, the favorable features and applicability of MGA. The effects of population sizes and maximum generations are also evaluated for the performance reliability and robustness of MGA. From the theoretical evaluation and numerical experience, it is concluded that the proposed MGA Is a reliable and efficient tool for structural design optimization.