Explicit optimum design

The optimization of a trussed type structure of given geometry and material properties can be formulated as an exact and explicit mathematical programming problem in a mixed space of design variables and behaviour variables. Three techniques are presented, corresponding to the three classical analysis methods of structural theory. In the case of a single loading condition without variables linking, the proposed method is very efficient since it eliminates the problem of multiple reanalysis without increasing the dimensionality of the problem and the number of constraints. In the other cases the numerical efficiency of the technique depends on the specific problem to be solved.