• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.749-758
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• 2017

In structural mechanics, traditional analyses methods usually employ matrix operations for obtaining displacement and internal forces of the structure under the external effects, such as distributed loads, earthquake or wind excitations, and temperature changing inter alia. These matrices are derived from the well-known principle of mechanics called minimum potential energy. According to this principle, a system can be in the equilibrium state only in case when the total potential energy of system is minimum. A close examination of the expression of the well-known equilibrium condition for linear problems, $P=K{\Delta}$, where P is the load vector, K is the stiffness matrix and ${\Delta}$ is the displacement vector, it is seen that, basically this principle searches the displacement set (or deformed shape) for a system that minimizes the total potential energy of it. Instead of using mathematical operations used in the conventional methods, with a different formulation, meta-heuristic algorithms can also be used for solving this minimization problem by defining total potential energy as objective function and displacements as design variables. Based on this idea the technique called Total Potential Optimization using Meta-heuristic Algorithms (TPO/MA) is proposed. The method has been successfully applied for linear and non-linear analyses of trusses and truss-like structures, and the results have shown that the approach is much more successful than conventional methods, especially for analyses of non-linear systems. In this study, the application of TPO/MA, with Harmony Search as the selected meta-heuristic algorithm, to cables net system is presented. The results have shown that the method is robust, powerful and accurate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.183-199
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• 2013

Current methods of analysis of trusses depend on matrix formulations based on equilibrium equations which are in fact derived from energy principles, and compatibility conditions. Recently it has been shown that the minimum energy principle, by itself, in its pure and unmodified form, can well be exploited to analyze structures when coupled with an optimization algorithm, specifically with a meta-heuristic algorithm. The resulting technique that can be called Total Potential Optimization using Meta-heuristic Algorithms (TPO/MA) has already been applied to analyses of linear and nonlinear plane trusses successfully as coupled with simulated annealing and local search algorithms. In this study the technique is applied to both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional trusses emphasizing robustness, reliability and accuracy. The trials have shown that the technique is robust in two senses: all runs result in answers, and all answers are acceptable as to the reliability and accuracy within the prescribed limits. It has also been shown that Harmony Search presents itself as an appropriate algorithm for the purpose.