The design optimization problem of stiffened steel plate girders is formulated with specified loading conditions and with strength, practicality, and serviceability constraints. The resulting constrained design problem combines structural sizing and shape parameters in one unified finite element model that is used to evaluate the objective function and structural/geometric response functions while the geometric domain elements are used to systematically perturb the structural shape during the search for an optimal structure. The mathematical statement of the gradient-based design problem includes buckling and frequency constraints in addition to the traditional strength and practical constraints. The numerical results obtained are compared to results obtained form a less formal ad hoc design procedure, and it is concluded that there are clear benefits when the design problem is solved using simultaneous structural size and shape optimizations.
展开▼
