Reliability-Based Design Optimization of Structures using Firefly Algorithm

In structural engineering, it is vital to design structures by providing pre-defined performance objectives economically. Reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) is looking for the best balance between safety and cost, by considering uncertainties in structural parameters and loading conditions. In recent decades, several methods have been used to solve RBDO problem. However, most of these methods suffer from high computational cost of solving the problem as a big challenge.In this paper, weighted simulation method, one of the newest and most effective methods for simulation-based reliability assessment methods, has been used for reliability analysis and evaluation of probabilistic constraints. The advantages of this method are a significant reduction in the computational cost and the proper accuracy of the final results.For minimizing the objective function, which is the weight of structure in this paper, Firefly algorithm (FA) is utilized. The FA is a stochastic metaheuristic approach based on the idealized behavior of the flashing characteristics of fireflies. In FA, the flashing light can be formulated in way that it is associated with the objective function to be minimized. The numerical example results indicate that using the proposed method leads to the optimum design solutions better than other methods in the literature without violating reliability constraints.