Abstract
The objective of this work was to apply heuristic optimization techniques to a steel-concrete composite pedestrian bridge, modeled like a beam on two supports. A program has been developed in Fortran programming language, capable of generating pedestrian bridges, checking them, and evaluating their cost. The following algorithms were implemented: descent local search (DLS), a hybrid simulated annealing with a mutation operator (SAMO2), and a glow-worms swarm optimization (GSO) in two variants. The first one only considers the GSO and the second combines GSO and DLS, applying the DSL heuristic to the best solutions obtained by the GSO. The results were compared according to the lowest cost. The GSO and DLS algorithms combined obtained the best results in terms of cost. Furthermore, a comparison between the CO2 emissions associated with the amount of materials obtained by every heuristic technique and the original design solution were studied. Finally, a parametric study was carried out according to the span length of the pedestrian bridge.
Highlights
Nowadays, society’s concern about the impact of activities is rising, their economic influence, and the environmental impact
All procedures are useful in the automated design of steel-concrete composite pedestrian bridges
The glow-worms swarm optimization (GSO) optimization algorithm obtained worse results than descent local search (DLS) and simulated annealing (SA), but if we apply the DLS to the best GSO solutions, this combination of heuristic techniques reaches the lowest cost solution; The results show the potential of the application of heuristic techniques to reach automatic designs of composite pedestrian bridges
Summary
Society’s concern about the impact of activities is rising, their economic influence, and the environmental impact. The construction sector is one of the most carbon intensive industries [1] due to the need for large amounts of materials and, large amounts of natural resources. Researchers are investigating how to achieve cost efficient and environmentally sustainable processes for the construction industry. The term sustainable development was introduced for the first time by the Brundtland Commission, defining it as, “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [2]. Countries have been raising awareness about the compromise to the future generations, modifying their policies and demanding cheaper, ecofriendly constructions, without forgetting their safety and durability. The demands of the governments are to reach solutions that reduce their impact on the three main pillars: the economy, the environment, and society
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