Structural Optimization Under Uncertainty

Abstract

Motivated by its applications in Engineering, since the early’s 70, optimal design of structures has been a very active research topic. Roughly speaking, the structural optimization problem amounts to finding the optimal distribution of material within a design domain such that a certain objective function or mechanical criterion is minimized. To ensure robustness and reliability of the final designs, a number of uncertainties should be accounted for in realistic models. These uncertainties include, among others, manufacturing imperfections, unknown loading conditions and variations of material’s properties.