Optimum spanning for rectangular floor systems" part 2 : an algorithm and practical applications

In practice, structural optimum geometric design consists of selecting the best combination of a finite number of structural elements and available parameters. It gives the optimum design procedure a combinatorial nature. In this paper, first a bi-objective combinatorial optimisation problem is formulated for the floor spanning design of multi-story buildings. The aim is to achieve an optimum spanning of rectangular reinforced concrete (RC) floor systems with the minimum cost and plan eccentricity. Two popular types of floor systems are studied: flat plates and beam-slab floor systems. Then a bi-objective Ant Colony Optimization approach, as a robust algorithm for discrete optimisation, is developed to solve the combinatorial optimisation arisen from the optimum geometric design of reinforced concrete floors. Numerical Examples are included to demonstrate the application of the methodology and robustness of the algorithm.