Optimal truss geometric configurations for a family of truss bridges

Abstract

The project is about optimizing a family of 2D trusses bridges. The construction industry is moving toward finding more efficient and cheaper means to design, analyze and construct structures. This project will demonstrate specific means on how to optimize several families of truss bridges. In previous studies, reports mainly approach this topic by using generic algorithms that helped to figure the theoretical shape of trusses with no constraints on the geometry, in our research the initial assumption is based on specific family or shapes of trusses having constraints on the weight, on failure by buckling and on failure by yielding. The optimization process allowed obtaining some analytic results for basic cases. The general case is numerically handled in a similar way as the analytic approach but with a truss analysis program that was written to enforce the equilibrium constraint on the members. Other constraints include the weight, buckling and yielding failure. In each case, a maximum load and optimized configuration is obtained.