Application of Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm to Engineering Structures

Abstract

AbstractIn this chapter, we present an approach that integrates the finite element method (FEM) with a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to deal with structural optimization problems. The proposed methodology is concerned with two main aspects. First, the problem definition must be established, expressing an explicit relationship between design variables and objective functions as well as constraints. The second aspect is to resolve the minimization problem using the PSO technique, including the use of finite element method. In this chapter, particle swarm optimizer is extended to solve structural design optimization problems involving problem-specific constraints and mixed variables such as integer, binary, discrete and continuous variables. The standard PSO algorithm is very efficient to solve global optimization problems with continuous variables, especially the PSO is combined with the FEM to deal with the constraints related with the boundary conditions of structures controlled by stresses or displacements. The proposed algorithm has been successfully used to solve structure design problems. The calculation results show that the proposed algorithm is able to achieve better convergence performance and higher accuracy in comparison with other conventional optimization methods used in civil engineering.KeywordsParticle Swarm Optimization AlgorithmInertia WeightTruss StructureStructural Optimization ProblemStructural Design ProblemThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.