The estimation of the accuracy and efficiency of the backtrack programming method for discrete-variable structural optimization problems

Abstract

For discrete-variable structural optimization problems, such as those which are nonlinear, non-differentiable, multimodal and defined at finite discrete points, a practical optimization method based on the backtrack programming method is proposed. This method solves a nonlinear constrained function minimization problem by a systematic search procedure and it can be successfully applied to optimization problems if the number of unknowns is not too large. The accuracy and efficiency of this method are demonstrated by six standard numerical examples. It is shown that the proposed method is reasonable and effective for medium-sized structures.