Structural Optimization: Fundamentals and Applications

This is an introduction to the fundamentals, methods and applications of structural optimization. It gives a survey of the literature on the subject published in recent years and presents selected topics in a unified approach. The text addresses both the student and the practising structural engineer. The book discusses in detail various problem formulations, the relative merit of different optimization methods and considerations related to practical applications. The emphasis throughout is on approximation concepts, which are essential in the solution of many practical design problems, and on multistage design procedures whereby various methods are combined to solve the overall design problem. The advantages as well as the limitations of the various problem formulations, solution methods and design procedures are discussed and illustrated by a variety of examples.