An important advantage of cold-formed steel is the greater flexibility of cross-sectional shapes and sizes available to the structural steel designer. The lack of standard optimized shapes, however, makes the selection of the most economical shape very difficult if not impossible. This task is further complicated by the complex and highly nonlinear nature of the rules that govern their design. A general mathematical formulation and computational model is presented for optimization of cold-formed steel beams. The nonlinear optimization problem is solved by adapting the robust neural dynamics model developed recently by Adeli and Park. The basis of the design can be AISI ASD or LRFD Specifications. The computational model has been applied to three different commonly-used types of cross-sectional shapes: hat, I, and Z shapes. The robustness and generality of the approach have been demonstrated by application to three different examples. This research lays the mathematical foundation for automated optimum design of structures made of cold-formed shapes. The result would be more economical use of cold-formed steel.

Construction Scheduling, Cost Optimization and Management presents a general mathematical formula for the scheduling of construction projects. Using this formula, repetitive and non-repetitive tasks, work continuity considerations, multiple-crew strategies, and the effects of varying job conditions on the performance of a crew can be modelled.L This book presents an entirely new approach to the construction scheduling problem. It provides a practical methodology which will be of great benefit to all those involved in construction scheduling and cost optimization, including construction engineers, highway engineers, transportation engineers, contractors and architects. It will also be useful for researchers, and graduates on courses in construction scheduling and planning.

Construction Scheduling, Cost Optimization and Management presents a general mathematical formula for the scheduling of construction projects. Using this formula, repetitive and non-repetitive tasks, work continuity considerations, multiple-crew strategies, and the effects of varying job conditions on the performance of a crew can be modelled. This book presents an entirely new approach to the construction scheduling problem. It provides a practical methodology which will be of great benefit to all those involved in construction scheduling and cost optimization, including construction engineers, highway engineers, transportation engineers, contractors and architects. It will also be useful for researchers, and graduates on courses in construction scheduling and planning.

While the weight of a structure constitutes a significant part of the cost, a minimum weight design is not necessarily the minimum cost design. Little attention in structural optimization has been paid to the cost optimization problem, particularly of realistic three-dimensional structures. Cost optimization is becoming a priority in all civil engineering projects, and the concept of Life-Cycle Costing is penetrating design, manufacturing and construction organizations. In this groundbreaking book the authors present novel computational models for cost optimization of large scale, realistic structures, subjected to the actual constraints of commonly used design codes. As the first book on the subject this book: Contains detailed step-by-step algorithms Focuses on novel computing techniques such as genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic, and parallel computing Covers both Allowable Stress Design (ASD) and Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) codes Includes realistic design examples covering large-scale, high-rise building structures Presents computational models that enable substantial cost savings in the design of structures Fully automated structural design and cost optimization is where large-scale design technology is heading, thus Cost Optimization of Structures: Fuzzy Logic, Genetic Algorithms, and Parallel Computing will be of great interest to civil and structural engineers, mechanical engineers, structural design software developers, and architectural engineers involved in the design of structures and life-cycle cost optimisation. It is also a pioneering text for graduate students and researchers working in building design and structural optimization.

A general mathematical formulation has been developed for scheduling of construction projects and applied to the problem of highway construction scheduling. Repetitive and non-repetitive tasks, work continuity considerations, multiple-crew strategies, and the effects of varying job conditions on the performance of a crew can be modeled. An optimization formulation is presented for the construction project scheduling problem with the goal of minimizing the direct construction cost. The nonlinear optimization problem is then solved by the recently patented neural dynamics model of Adeli and Park (United States patent number 5,815,394 issued on September 29, 1998). For any given construction duration, the model yields the optimum construction schedule for minimum construction cost automatically. By varying the construction duration, one can solve the cost-duration trade-off problem and obtain the global optimum schedule and the corresponding minimum construction cost.