32 NEURAL DYNAMICS MODEL FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN OPTIMIZATION

3.6.1
Example 1
In this example a simply-supported beam of span length L=3 m is subjected to uniformly distributed dead
and live loads of 3 kN/m and 12 kN/m, respectively. Full lateral support is assumed for all the cases. Three
types of shapes are designed for this beam: hat, I, and Z shapes. Two sets of initial design variables are used
in order to investigate the effects of the initial design on the optimum solution: A{50, 50, 150, 8 mm} and B
{100, 100, 200, 8 mm}.
The optimization results are summarized in Table 3.1 and convergence results are shown in Figure 3.4. A
number of important observations can be made. First, the dominant design variable is the thickness. For the
optimum solution it can change drastically from the initial design value. Second, the optimization algorithm
yields a local optimum solution in the vicinity of the initial values for the depth and the flange widths. Third,
in all the examples the bending strength and the combined bending and shear strength control the

Table 3.1 Optimum solutions for Example 1

Case# Shape Specification X1 mm (in.) X2 mm (in.) X3 mm (in.) X4 mm (in.) W N (lb)
Initial Design A 20 (0.8) 20 (0.8) 100 (3.9) 6.0 (0.24) 611.3 (137.4)
1 Hat ASD 31 (1.2) 31 (1.2) 119 (4.7) 3.0 (0.12) 347.0 (78.0)
2 Hat LRFD 31 (1.2) 31 (1.2) 119 (4.7) 3.0 (0.12) 347.0 (78.0)
3 I ASD 31 (1.2) 31 (1.2) 119 (4.7) 3.0 (0.12) 347.0 (78.0)
4 I LRFD 31 (1.2) 31 (1.2) 119 (4.7) 3.0 (0.12) 347.0 (78.0)
5 Z ASD 40 (1.6) 40 (1.6) 132 (5.2) 3.1 (0.12) 221.1 (49.7)
6 Z LRFD 40 (1.6) 40 (1.6) 132 (5.2) 3.1 (0.12) 221.1 (49.7)
Initial Design B 20 (0.8) 20 (0.8) 150 (5.9) 6.0 (0.24) 749.9 (168.6)
1 Hat ASD 36 (1.4) 36 (1.4) 143 (5.6) 2.1 (0.08) 266.6 (59.9)
2 Hat LRFD 36 (1.4) 36 (1.4) 143 (5.6) 2.0 (0.08) 258.5 (58.1)
3 I ASD 36 (1.4) 36 (1.4) 143 (5.6) 2.1 (0.08) 266.6 (59.9)
4 I LRFD 36 (1.4) 36 (1.4) 143 (5.6) 2.1 (0.08) 272.3 (61.2)
5 Z ASD 36 (1.4) 36 (1.4) 143 (5.6) 2.8 (0.11) 203.2 (45.7)
6 Z LRFD 36 (1.4) 36 (1.4) 143 (5.6) 2.8 (0.11) 203.2 (45.7)

optimum design. For the live-to-dead load ratio of 4 used in this example, there is no significant difference
in the optimum designs based on the AISIASD and the LRFD Specifications.

3.6.2
Example 2
In this example, the beam is subjected to concentrated loads in addition to uniformly distributed load, as
shown in Figure 3.5. Three different lateral support conditions are considered as noted in Table 3.2. For this
example an I shape is optimized using both AISI ASD and LRFD Specifications. Again, all cases are solved
using two initial sets of design variables: A{70, 70, 200, 8 mm} and B{70, 70, 300, 8mm}.
The optimization results are summarized in Table 3.2 and the convergence results shown in Figure 3.6.
For cases 1 and 2, the lateral buckling strength of the unbraced segment controls the optimum design. For
cases 3 and 4, the lateral buckling strength of the unbraced segment(s), the bending strength, and the