Design Optimization of Reinforced Concrete Retaining Walls Using Harmony Search Algorithm ( HAS )

Author(s):  
Ali I. Tayeh
Author(s):  
Rasim Temür ◽  
Gebrail Bekdaş

Methodologies based on metaheuristic algorithms such as particle swarm optimization, harmony search algorithm, and teaching-learning-based optimization are proposed for optimum design of reinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls. The objective function of optimization is to find a design providing minimum cost, including material and construction costs. For this purpose, the best combination of 11 design variables (heel and toe projections, stem thickness at the top and bottom of a wall, slab thickness and rebar diameters, and spacing between the bars) that satisfy 29 design constraints including stability (overturning, sliding, and bearing) and reinforced concrete design of the wall are searched during the optimization process. The rules of ACI 318 14 (building code requirements for structural concrete) are used for the reinforced concrete design. In order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of algorithms, several different cases are investigated. As conclusions, some suggestions have been obtained that will lead to future work in this field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gebrail Bekdaş ◽  
Zülal Akbay Arama ◽  
Aylin Ece Kayabekir ◽  
Zong Woo Geem

In this paper, the design of cantilever soldier pile retaining walls embedded in frictional soils is investigated within the insight of an optimization algorithm to acquire cost and dimension equilibrium by ensuring both geotechnical and structural requirements simultaneously. Multivariate parametric analyses with different fictionalized cases are performed to evaluate the effects of design variants and to compare the effectiveness of the preference of optimization solutions rather than detailed advanced modeling software. The harmony search algorithm is used to conduct parametrical analyses to take into consideration the effects of the change of excavation depth, shear strength angle, and unit weight of soil, external loading condition, and coefficient of soil reaction. The embedment depth and diameter of the soldier pile are searched as design dimensions, and the total cost of a cantilever soldier pile wall is calculated as an objective function. The design dimension results of the parametric optimization analysis are used to perform finite element analysis with a well-known commercial geotechnical analysis software. The results of optimization and finite element solutions are compared with the use of maximum bending moment, factor of safety, and pivot point location values. As the consequence of the study, the influence rates of design variants are procured, and the effectiveness of the usage of optimization algorithms for both cost and dimensional equilibrium is presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aylin Ece Kayabekir ◽  
Zülal Akbay Arama ◽  
Gebrail Bekdaş ◽  
Sinan Melih Nigdeli ◽  
Zong Woo Geem

In this study, considering the eco-friendly design necessities of reinforced concrete structures, the acquirement of minimizing both the cost and the CO2 emission of the reinforced concrete retaining walls in conjunction with ensuring stability conditions has been investigated using harmony search algorithm. Optimization analyses were conducted with the use of two different objective functions to discover the contribution rate of variants to the cost and CO2 emission individually. Besides this, the integrated relationship of cost and CO2 emission was also identified by multi-objective analysis in order to identify an eco-friendly and cost-effective design. The height of the stem and the width of the foundation were treated as design variables. Several optimization cases were fictionalized in relation with the change of the depth of excavation, the amount of the surcharge applied at the top of the wall system at the backfill side, the unit weight of the backfill soil, the costs, and CO2 emission amounts of both the concrete and the reinforcement bars. Consequently, the results of the optimization analyses were arranged to discover the possibility of supplying an eco-friendly design of retaining walls with the minimization of both cost and gas emission depending upon the comparison of outcomes of the identified objective functions. The proposed approach is effective to find both economic and ecological results according to hand calculations and flower pollination algorithm.


2015 ◽  
Vol 813-814 ◽  
pp. 1032-1036
Author(s):  
P. Sabarinath ◽  
M.R. Thansekhar ◽  
R. Jeganathan ◽  
R. Saravanan

Mechanical design engineers design products by selecting the best possible materials and geometries that satisfies the specific operational requirements of the design. It involves lot of creativity and aesthetics to make better designs. A gear design makes the designer to compromise many design variables so as to arrive the best performance of a gear set. The best possible way for multi variable, Multiobjective gear design is to try design optimization. For many complex engineering optimization problems multi objective design optimization methods are used to simplify the design problem. In this paper, multiobjective design of helical gear pair transmission with objective functions namely volume of the small and large helical gear and opposite number of overlap ratio is taken into account. The design variables considered are normal module, helix angle, gear width coefficient and teeth number of small helical gear. A recent meta-heuristic algorithm namely parameter adaptive harmony search algorithm is applied to solve this problem using the weighted sum approach. It is evident from the results that the proposed approach is performing better than other algorithms.


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