Introduction and State-of-the-Art Review of Optimum Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures

This first chapter of the book presents an introduction and review study. The necessity of optimization in engineering design is discussed. The nonlinear behavior of problems plays an important role in the usage of metaheuristic methods because of complexity resulting from design constraints considering safety and utilization rules. Design factors in analysis and design of structures are given. A brief history about optimization of structures is presented, including the first early attempts of Galilei Galileo. As the main scope of the book, the review of studies considering optimization of reinforced concrete (RC) structures and members via metaheuristic methods are given. The optimized RC members include beams, columns, slabs, frames, bridges, footings, shear walls, retaining walls, and cylindrical walls.