Abstract:
This thesis presents the novel Turbulent Flow of Water-based Optimization (TFWO) algorithm for the optimal design of structures under applied forces. The method has been inspired by the natural and random responses of vortices in rivers, seas and oceans. The design problem minimizes the total cost (viz., weight or volume) of the structure with the optimal distribution of its member sizes such that the safety and integrity of the resulting structure can be attained. It is formulated as the challenging nonlinear programming problem under the simultaneous ultimate strength and serviceability criteria. The proposed algorithm is encoded as a MATLAB code where the structure is discretized as a standard pin-connected truss. Various design benchmarks have been successfully processed by the TFWO approach. The accurate design solutions can be achieved at modest computing resources, where all constraints are strictly complied.
