Simultaneous Analysis, Design and Optimization of Structures Using Force Method and Ant Colony Algorithms

In this paper, an energy formulation of the force method is developed and the analysis,design and optimization are performed simultaneously using ant colony algorithms. Newgoal functions are introduced for minimization, and ant colony algorithms are employed forcontinuous optimization. An efficient method is introduced using ant colony algorithms fordesigning structures with prescribed member stress ratios. Finally, minimum weight designof truss and frame structures is formulated using ant colony algorithms and applied to some benchmark problems from literature.