A Numerical method for optimization of distributed parameter structures with displacement constraints

Recent results in design differentiation of structural displacement are used to develop an iterative optimization method that explicitly treats bounds on the maximum displacement of structural elements. Computable design derivative expressions are employed, and a finite-element computational algorithm is presented for obtaining design derivatives needed in structural optimization. A function-space, gradient-projection, optimization technique which uses these derivatives is presented. The method is applied to beam and plate optimization problems to illustrate its use and to evaluate its computational efficiency. Results obtained using this method are compared with solutions reported in the literature. The method is shown to be both generally applicable and numerically efficient.