Optimal design of a non-prismatic reinforced concrete box girder bridge with three meta-heuristic algorithms

Abstract

Bridges are one of the most important structures that come with a high cost. The use of optimization methods may have a significant effect on cost reduction. In the present study, the performances of the Water Strider Algorithm (WSA), Enhanced Colliding Bodies Optimization (ECBO), and Enhanced Vibrating Particles System (EVPS) are compared so that the cost of a real-world non-prismatic reinforced concrete box girder bridge can be optimized. To this end, a computer tool linking CSiBridge to Matlab software has been used to optimize the bridge problem. For the first time, the present study uses the WSA algorithm to optimize bridges. Results show that the performance of ECBO algorithm is better than the other two algorithms and the WSA algorithm outperforms the EVPS algorithm.