Cost optimum design of doubly reinforced high strength concrete T-beams

Abstract

This paper presents a method for optimizing the design cost of a doubly reinforced High Strength Concrete (HSC) T-beam. The objective function used in the model includes the costs of HSC, steel, and formwork. The constraint functions are set to satisfy design requirements of Eurocode 2 (EC-2). The cost optimization process is developed by the use of the Generalized Reduced Gradient algorithm. An example problem is considered in order to illustrate the applicability of the proposed design model and solution methodology. It is concluded that the present approach is economically more effective when compared to conventional design methods and can be extended to deal with other sections without major alterations.