This book serves as a complementary resource to the courses "Advanced structural optimization" and "Structural optimization in automotive engineering" taught by the author at the University of Siegen, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany since 2001. Focusing on optimization problems in the field of structural engineering, this book offers a rigorous and analytical approach to problem-solving. Each chapter of the book begins with a brief overview of classical results and the derivation of governing equations. The solutions to optimization problems are then presented in a closed form, with the author guiding readers through several analytical methods for solving stability and contact tasks. Throughout the book, the author takes care to ensure that even readers without extensive experience in numerical computations can understand the conclusion of each relation. The book features several basic optimization problems, selected from a large pool of previously solved problems, with a particular emphasis on the unique features of optimization problems. By presenting analytical solutions, readers can better understand other known optimization problems and gain the skills needed to independently set and solve new problems. With its comprehensive and rigorous approach to problem-solving, this book is sure to enhance the reader's understanding of the field and equip them with the skills needed to tackle new challenges.

This book was developed while teaching a graduate course at several universities in the United States. Europe and Israel. during the last two decades. The purpose of the book is to introduce the fundamentals and applications of optimum structural design. Much work has been done in this area recently and many studies have been published. The book is an attempt to collect together selected topics of this literature and to present them in a unified approach. It meets the need for an introductory text covering the basic concepts of modem structural optimization. A previous book by the author on this subject ("Optimum Structural Design". published by McGraw-Hill New York in 1981 and by Maruzen Tokyo in 1983). has been used extensively as a text in many universities throughout the world. The present book reflects the rapid progress and recent developments in this area. A major difficulty in studying structural optimization is that integration of concepts used in several areas. such as structural analysis. numerical optimization and engineering design. is necessary in order to solve a specific problem. To facilitate the study of these topics. the book discusses in detail alternative problem formulations. the fundamentals of different optimization methods and various considerations related to structural design. The advantages and the limitations of the presented approaches are illustrated by numerous examples.

This book bridges a gap between a rigorous mathematical approach to variational problems and the practical use of algorithms of structural optimization in engineering applications. The foundations of structural optimization are presented in sufficiently simple form as to make them available for practical use.

This book has grown out of lectures and courses given at Linköping University, Sweden, over a period of 15 years. It gives an introductory treatment of problems and methods of structural optimization. The three basic classes of geometrical - timization problems of mechanical structures, i. e. , size, shape and topology op- mization, are treated. The focus is on concrete numerical solution methods for d- crete and (?nite element) discretized linear elastic structures. The style is explicit and practical: mathematical proofs are provided when arguments can be kept e- mentary but are otherwise only cited, while implementation details are frequently provided. Moreover, since the text has an emphasis on geometrical design problems, where the design is represented by continuously varying—frequently very many— variables, so-called ?rst order methods are central to the treatment. These methods are based on sensitivity analysis, i. e. , on establishing ?rst order derivatives for - jectives and constraints. The classical ?rst order methods that we emphasize are CONLIN and MMA, which are based on explicit, convex and separable appro- mations. It should be remarked that the classical and frequently used so-called op- mality criteria method is also of this kind. It may also be noted in this context that zero order methods such as response surface methods, surrogate models, neural n- works, genetic algorithms, etc. , essentially apply to different types of problems than the ones treated here and should be presented elsewhere.

Optimization methods are perceived to be at the heart of computer methods for designing engineering systems. With these optimization methods, the designer can evaluate more alternatives, resulting in a better and more cost-effective design. This guide describes the use of modern optimization methods with simple yet meaningful structural design examples. Optimum solutions are obtained and, where possible, compared with the solutions obtained using traditional design procedures.

Stochastic Structural Optimization presents a comprehensive picture of robust design optimization of structures, focused on nonparametric stochastic-based methodologies. Good practical structural design accounts for uncertainty, for which reliability-based design offers a standard approach, usually incorporating assumptions on probability functions which are often unknown. By comparison, a worst-case approach with bounded support used as a robust design offers simplicity and a lower level of sensitivity. Linking structural optimization with these two approaches by a unified framework of non-parametric stochastic methodologies provides a rigorous theoretical background and high level of practicality. This text shows how to use this theoretical framework in civil and mechanical engineering practice to design a safe structure which accounts for uncertainty. Connects theory with practice in the robust design optimization of structures Advanced enough to support sound practical designs This book provides comprehensive coverage for engineers and graduate students in civil and mechanical engineering. Makoto Yamakawa is a Professor at Tokyo University of Science, and a member of the Advisory Board of the 2020 Asian Congress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. Makoto Ohsaki is a Professor at Kyoto University, Japan, treasurer of the International Association for Shell & Spatial Structures and former President of the Asian Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization.