Numerical analysis of collapse modes in optimized design of alveolar steel-concrete composite beams via genetic algorithms

Abstract

The objective of this study is to present the formulation and applications of the optimization problem of steel-concrete composite alveolar beams. In addition to presenting the formulation, a comparative analysis of the predominant collapse modes is performed numerically via the finite element method. The optimization program was developed with the GUI platform available in Matlab 2016. Since this is a discrete problem, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) was used to solve the optimization model, implemented with the Matlab optimization toolbox. Numerical examples using finite elements model are presented to validate the solution and analyze its effectiveness, along with an assesment of the predominant collapse modes for a group of 12 beams. The results show that more efficient designs are obtained when optimization tools are applied.