FINITE ELEMENT BASED GENETIC ALGORITHM FOR STRUCTURAL DESIGN OPTIMIZATION

Genetic algorithms are nowadays widely used in various manufacturing problems dealing with optimization. While most optimization tasks need a certain form of model that defines the optimization’s figure of merit or the objective function, such objective function for some phases in the manufacturing process, such as design, is difficult to establish using conventional techniques. On the other hand, current design models in 3D are in most cases integrated with finite element analysis tools that generate finite element meshes giving the complete mathematical description of the physical model using nodal values and shape functions. The aim of this article is to point out the general scheme associated with the implementation of finite element descriptions in optimization of structural design using global optimization capability of genetic algorithms