An Application of Network-Topological Concepts to the Design of Framed Structures

Abstract

In accordance with the increasing necessity of the rational design of structures, the optimum design method has been developed during the last two decades. The optimum design method eventually depends on two different bases by using digital computers. One refers to the mathematical programming, while the other refers to the structural analysis to be suitable for digital computations. There exist, however, many difficulties in their direct applications to the optimum design. Numerical results occasionally converge poorly and more calculation time is required as the number of design variables increases. Thus, a particular treatment which can decrease the number of design variables is necessary for the design of real large structures. In this paper, the authors propose the piecewise design, which is based on the concepts of Kron's Tearing and Interconnecting Method, in order to decrease the number of design variables. Also, the optimal geometric configuration, which has been scarcely considered in most studies, is discussed with the aid of the topological treatment.