Mechanics of Optimal Structural Design

Mechanics of Optimal Structural Design
Author: David W. A. Rees
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 582
Release: 2009-12-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780470747810

In a global climate where engineers are increasingly under pressure to make the most of limited resources, there are huge potential financial and environmental benefits to be gained by designing for minimum weight. With Mechanics of Optimal Structural Design, David Rees brings the original approach of weight optimization to the existing structural design literature, providing a methodology for attaining minimum weight of a range of structures under their working loads. He addresses the current gap in education between formal structural design teaching at undergraduate level and the practical application of this knowledge in industry, describing the analytical techniques that students need to understand before applying computational techniques that can be easy to misuse without this grounding. Shows engineers how to approach structural design for minimum weight in clear, concise terms Contains many new least-weight design techniques, taking into consideration different manners of loading and including new topics that have not previously been considered within the least-weight theme Considers the demands for least-weight road, air and space vehicles for the future Enhanced by illustrative worked examples to enlighten the theory, exercises at the end of each chapter that enable application of the theory covered, and an accompanying website with worked examples and solutions housed at www.wiley.com/go/rees The least-weight analyses of basic structural elements ensure a spread of interest with many applications in mechanical, civil, aircraft and automobile engineering. Consequently, this book fills the gap between the basic material taught at undergraduate level and other approaches to optimum design, for example computer simulations and the finite element method.

Optimal Structural Design under Stability Constraints

Optimal Structural Design under Stability Constraints
Author: Antoni Gajewski
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400927541

The first optimal design problem for an elastic column subject to buckling was formulated by Lagrange over 200 years ago. However, rapid development of structural optimization under stability constraints occurred only in the last twenty years. In numerous optimal structural design problems the stability phenomenon becomes one of the most important factors, particularly for slender and thin-walled elements of aerospace structures, ships, precision machines, tall buildings etc. In engineering practice stability constraints appear more often than it might be expected; even when designing a simple beam of constant width and variable depth, the width - if regarded as a design variable - is finally determined by a stability constraint (lateral stability). Mathematically, optimal structural design under stability constraints usually leads to optimization with respect to eigenvalues, but some cases fall even beyond this type of problems. A total of over 70 books has been devoted to structural optimization as yet, but none of them has treated stability constraints in a sufficiently broad and comprehensive manner. The purpose of the present book is to fill this gap. The contents include a discussion of the basic structural stability and structural optimization problems and the pertinent solution methods, followed by a systematic review of solutions obtained for columns, arches, bar systems, plates, shells and thin-walled bars. A unified approach based on Pontryagin's maximum principle is employed inasmuch as possible, at least to problems of columns, arches and plates. Parametric optimization is discussed as well.

Problems and Methods of Optimal Structural Design

Problems and Methods of Optimal Structural Design
Author: Nikolai Vladimirovich Banichuk
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2013-03-13
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1461336767

The author offers a systematic and careful development of many aspects of structural optimization, particularly for beams and plates. Some of the results are new and some have appeared only in specialized Soviet journals, or as pro ceedings of conferences, and are not easily accessible to Western engineers and mathematicians. Some aspects of the theory presented here, such as optimiza tion of anisotropic properties of elastic structural elements, have not been con sidered to any extent by Western research engineers. The author's treatment is "classical", i.e., employing classical analysis. Classical calculus of variations, the complex variables approach, and the Kolosov Muskhelishvili theory are the basic techniques used. He derives many results that are of interest to practical structural engineers, such as optimum designs of structural elements submerged in a flowing fluid (which is of obvious interest in aircraft design, in ship building, in designing turbines, etc.). Optimization with incomplete information concerning the loads (which is the case in a great majority of practical design considerations) is treated thoroughly. For example, one can only estimate the weight of the traffic on a bridge, the wind load, the additional loads if a river floods, or possible earthquake loads.

Optimal Design of Complex Mechanical Systems

Optimal Design of Complex Mechanical Systems
Author: Giampiero Mastinu
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2007-07-20
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3540343555

This book presents foundations and practical application of multi-objective optimization methods to Vehicle Design Problems, bolstered with an extensive collection of examples. Opening with a broad theoretical introduction to the optimization of complex mechanical systems and multi-objective optimization methods, the book presents several applications which are extensively exposed here for the first time. The book includes examples of proposed methods to the solution of real vehicle design problems.

Recent Advances in Optimal Structural Design

Recent Advances in Optimal Structural Design
Author: Scott A. Burns
Publisher: ASCE Publications
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780784475249

Sponsored by the Technical Committee on Structural Design of the Technical Administrative Committee on Analysis and Computation of the Technical Activities Division of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE. This report documents the dramatic new developments in the field of structural optimization over the last two decades. Changes in both computational techniques and applications can be seen by developments in computational methods and solution algorithms, the role of optimization during the various stages of structural design, and the stochastic nature of design in relation to structural optimization. Topics include: Ømethods for discrete variable structural optimization; Ødecomposition methods in structural optimization; Østate of the art on the use of genetic algorithms in design of steel structures; Øconceptual design optimization of engineering structures; Øtopology and geometry optimization of trusses and frames; Øevolutionary structural optimization; Ødesign and optimization of semi-rigid framed structures; Øoptimized performance-based design for buildings; Ømulti-objective optimum design of seismic-resistant structures; and Øreliability- and cost-oriented optimal bridge maintenance planning. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography of journal papers on structural optimization published between 1987 and 1999.

Topology Optimization in Structural and Continuum Mechanics

Topology Optimization in Structural and Continuum Mechanics
Author: George I. N. Rozvany
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 471
Release: 2013-09-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3709116430

The book covers new developments in structural topology optimization. Basic features and limitations of Michell’s truss theory, its extension to a broader class of support conditions, generalizations of truss topology optimization, and Michell continua are reviewed. For elastic bodies, the layout problems in linear elasticity are discussed and the method of relaxation by homogenization is outlined. The classical problem of free material design is shown to be reducible to a locking material problem, even in the multiload case. For structures subjected to dynamic loads, it is explained how they can be designed so that the structural eigenfrequencies of vibration are as far away as possible from a prescribed external excitation frequency (or a band of excitation frequencies) in order to avoid resonance phenomena with high vibration and noise levels. For diffusive and convective transport processes and multiphysics problems, applications of the density method are discussed. In order to take uncertainty in material parameters, geometry, and operating conditions into account, techniques of reliability-based design optimization are introduced and reviewed for their applicability to topology optimization.

Optimal Analysis of Structures by Concepts of Symmetry and Regularity

Optimal Analysis of Structures by Concepts of Symmetry and Regularity
Author: Ali Kaveh
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2013-05-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3709115655

Optimal analysis is defined as an analysis that creates and uses sparse, well-structured and well-conditioned matrices. The focus is on efficient methods for eigensolution of matrices involved in static, dynamic and stability analyses of symmetric and regular structures, or those general structures containing such components. Powerful tools are also developed for configuration processing, which is an important issue in the analysis and design of space structures and finite element models. Different mathematical concepts are combined to make the optimal analysis of structures feasible. Canonical forms from matrix algebra, product graphs from graph theory and symmetry groups from group theory are some of the concepts involved in the variety of efficient methods and algorithms presented. The algorithms elucidated in this book enable analysts to handle large-scale structural systems by lowering their computational cost, thus fulfilling the requirement for faster analysis and design of future complex systems. The value of the presented methods becomes all the more evident in cases where the analysis needs to be repeated hundreds or even thousands of times, as for the optimal design of structures by different metaheuristic algorithms. The book is of interest to anyone engaged in computer-aided analysis and design and software developers in this field. Though the methods are demonstrated mainly through skeletal structures, continuum models have also been added to show the generality of the methods. The concepts presented are not only applicable to different types of structures but can also be used for the analysis of other systems such as hydraulic and electrical networks.

Topology Design Methods for Structural Optimization

Topology Design Methods for Structural Optimization
Author: Osvaldo M. Querin
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2017-06-09
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0080999891

Topology Design Methods for Structural Optimization provides engineers with a basic set of design tools for the development of 2D and 3D structures subjected to single and multi-load cases and experiencing linear elastic conditions. Written by an expert team who has collaborated over the past decade to develop the methods presented, the book discusses essential theories with clear guidelines on how to use them. Case studies and worked industry examples are included throughout to illustrate practical applications of topology design tools to achieve innovative structural solutions. The text is intended for professionals who are interested in using the tools provided, but does not require in-depth theoretical knowledge. It is ideal for researchers who want to expand the methods presented to new applications, and includes a companion website with related tools to assist in further study. - Provides design tools and methods for innovative structural design, focusing on the essential theory - Includes case studies and real-life examples to illustrate practical application, challenges, and solutions - Features accompanying software on a companion website to allow users to get up and running fast with the methods introduced - Includes input from an expert team who has collaborated over the past decade to develop the methods presented

Elements of Structural Optimization

Elements of Structural Optimization
Author: Raphael T. Haftka
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2013-03-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9401578621

The field of structural optimization is still a relatively new field undergoing rapid changes in methods and focus. Until recently there was a severe imbalance between the enormous amount of literature on the subject, and the paucity of applications to practical design problems. This imbalance is being gradually redressed now. There is still no shortage of new publications, but there are also exciting applications of the methods of structural optimizations in the automotive, aerospace, civil engineering, machine design and other engineering fields. As a result of the growing pace of applications, research into structural optimization methods is increasingly driven by real-life problems. Most engineers who design structures employ complex general-purpose software packages for structural analysis. Often they do not have any access to the source the details of program, and even more frequently they have only scant knowledge of the structural analysis algorithms used in this software packages. Therefore the major challenge faced by researchers in structural optimization is to develop methods that are suitable for use with such software packages. Another major challenge is the high computational cost associated with the analysis of many complex real-life problems. In many cases the engineer who has the task of designing a structure cannot afford to analyze it more than a handful of times.

Optimal Structural Design

Optimal Structural Design
Author: Ronald A. Gellatly
Publisher:
Total Pages: 84
Release: 1971
Genre: Numerical analysis
ISBN:

The report considers the state of the art in methods of structural optimization. Mathematical programming based methods, while extremely successful with problems of moderate size tend to become prohibitively costly when applied to large scale structures. A novel approach to the weight optimization of indeterminate structures under multiple loading conditions with strength and displacement constraints has been developed and is presented herein. Using this method significant improvements in computational time have been achieved over direct numerical search methods. In some cases the numbers of iterations required to determine the least weight have been reduced by factors of over 20. The rate of convergence is independent of problem size permitting application to large scale structures. Examples of application of the new approach to a number of problems are included.