An introduction to structural optimization (Q951222)

This book represents a good introduction to structural optimization. It covers the main methods used for the optimization of discrete and distributed parametric systems. After a general presentation of the structural optimization problems (Chapter 1), the authors give a series of illustrative examples (Chapter 2). Chapter 3 describes the possibility to apply the convex programming to structural optimization. Because for large problems of structural optimization it is difficult to obtain explicit relations between the objective function and restrictions, Chapter 4 explains some methods to generate a lot of explicit subproblems. The methods presented in Chapter 5 are applied to size optimization of a truss, and Chapter 6 discusses the sensitivity analysis (with reference to sizing, topology and shape ontimization) for finite element discretized structures. Some basic properties of Bézier and \(B\)-splines are presented in Chapter 7, and the nodal sensitivities are calculated for some two-dimensional structures. The final two chapters are devoted to stiffness and topology optimization of distributed parameter systems, with different illustrative examples. The optimality conditions and criteria are discussed, too. Due to numerous practical examples, this book can be strongly recommended to young specialists and students in mechanical engineering.