Author(s)

N. Gunduz, N. Akbulut & F.O. Sonmez

Abstract

Generating optimal 2D structural designs using simulated annealing N. Gunduz, N. Akbulut and F. 0. Sonmez Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bogazici University, Turkiye Abstract The aim of this study is to generate global optimal shapes for two-dimensional structures subject to given in-plane loads and restraints. The design constraints are the maximum allowable stress and model connectivity, while the objective function to be minimized is the volume (or the weight) of the structure. Optimisation is achieved by a stochastic search algorithm called simulated annealing, which seeks the global minimum through randomly generated configurations. In order to obtain random configurations, a boundary variation technique is used. In this technique, initially, a set of design points is chosen and connected by cubic splines to describe the boundary of the structure. Whenever the position of a randomly chosen keypoint is changed in a random direction, a new configuration is obtained. A

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