• 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.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.185-200
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• 1998

Space truss design usually involves two main assumptions: that truss members are pin-ended, and compression members possess brittle post-buckling characteristics. The validity of these assumptions in the design of a new group of space trusses with continuous chords and eccentric joints is questionable. With chord member continuity and the consequent improvement in compression member behaviour, current design practice might be too conservative. In this paper, it is shown that substantial improvements in overall truss strength have resulted when the true member end conditions are considered, thus indicating potential savings in truss weight with considerable magnitudes.

• 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 Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.53-57
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• 2003

Optimum design of most structural system requires that design variables are regarded as discrete quantities. This paper presents the use of Genetic Algorithm for determining the optimum design for truss with discrete variables. Genetic Algorithm are know as heuristic search algorithms, and are effective global search methods for discrete optimization. In this paper, Elitism and the method of conferring penalty parameters in the design variables, in order to achieve improved fitness in the reproduction process, is used in the Genetic Algorithm. A 10-Bar plane truss and a 25-Bar space truss are used for discrete optimization. These structures are designed for stress and displacement constraints, but buckling is not considered. In particular, we obtain continuous solution using Genetic Algorithms for a 10-bar truss, compared with other results. The effectiveness of Genetic Algorithms for global optimization is demonstrated through two truss examples.

• 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.

• 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 the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.135-142
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• 2019

Ant colony optimization(ACO) technique is utilized in truss size optimization with frequency constraints. Total weight of truss to be minimized is considered as the objective function and multiple natural frequencies are adopted as constraints. The modified traveling salesman problem(TSP) is adopted and total length of the TSP tour is interpreted as the weight of the structure. The present ACO-based design optimization procedure uses discrete design variables and the penalty function is introduced to enforce design constraints during optimization process. Three numerical examples are carried out to verify the capability of ACO in truss optimization with frequency constraints. From numerical results, the present ACO is a very effective way of finding optimum design of truss structures in free vibration. Finally, we provide the present numerical results as future reference solutions.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.301-308
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• 1999

This paper describes the application of genetic algorithm(GA) in the discrete optimal design of truss structures. Stochastic processes generate an intial population of design and then apply principles of natural selection/survival of the fittest to improve the design. GA is applied to minimum weight of truss subject to stress and displacement constraints under multiple loading conditions. First, optimum solutions obtained from GA are compared to verify the reliability of GA with m well-known transmission tower structure which is referred to by other authors. Then, discrete optimal design is performed in satisfying service conditions of truss structure with commercially available fabricated sizes. From the results, it is found that GA search technique is very effective for discrete optimal design of truss structure and has high robustness.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.47-55
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• 2013

The design composition elements and the mechanical behavior of trusses have been investigated for Pratt trusses. As a result, it was determined that the design composition elements of the trusses consist of the composition of webs, the distance between joints, the chords profile, the depth of the truss, and the double chord composition. In addition, by analyzing models with a variation of elements, comprehensive features of structural behavior have been presented for variations of design of Pratt trusses. This is to provide more effective and useful design information on truss structure in the architectural and structural planning stage.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.36-42
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• 2013

We present the optimum design for the cross-sectional(sizing) and shape optimization of truss structures with natural frequency constraints. The optimum design method used in this paper employs continuous design variables and the Harmony Search Algorithm(HSA). HSA is a meta-heuristic search method for global optimization problems. In this paper, HSA uses the method of random number selection in an update process, along with penalty parameters, to construct the initial harmony memory in order to improve the fitness in the initial and update processes. In examples, 10-bar and 72-bar trusses are optimized for sizing, and 37-bar bridge type truss and 52-bar(like dome) for sizing and shape. Four typical truss optimization examples are employed to demonstrate the availability of HSA for finding the minimum weight optimum truss with multiple natural frequency constraints.