Harmony Search Algorithms for Structural Design Optimization

Various structures, such as buildings, bridges, stadiums, paved roads, and offshore structures, play an important role in our lives. However, constructing these structures requires lots of budget. Thus, how to cost-efficiently design them while satisfying all the design constraints is an important factor to structural engineers. Traditionally, mathematical gradient-based optimization techniques have been applied to the design. However, these gradient-based methods are not suitable for discrete-type design variables such as ready-made cross sectional area of structural members. Recently, researchers have turned their interest into metaheuristic optimization techniques because they are able to efficiently handle discrete design variables. Harmony search, as a metaheuristic algorithm concepted from music improvisation, has been vigorously applied to various structural design problems, obtaining good results. Thus, this book gathers all the latest developments of harmony search algorithm in structural design field in order for readers to efficiently understand a full spectrum of the algorithms potential in structural design and to easily apply the algorithm to their own structural problems.