Soft computing methodologies for structural optimization

The paper examines the efficiency of soft computing techniques in structural optimization, in particular algorithms based on evolution strategies combined with neural networks, for solving large-scale, continuous or discrete structural optimization problems. The proposed combined algorithms are implemented both in deterministic and reliability based structural optimization problems, in an effort to increase the computational efficiency as well as the robustness of the optimization procedure. The use of neural networks was motivated by the time-consuming repeated finite element analyses required during the optimization process. A trained neural network is used to perform either the deterministic constraints check or, in the case of reliability based optimization, both the deterministic and the probabilistic constraints checks. The suitability of the neural network predictions is investigated in a number of structural optimization problems in order to demonstrate the computational advantages of the proposed methodologies. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.