Multilevel Approach to Optimum Structural Design

The general problem of optimizing and node coordinates in structural design is formulated in terms of mathematical programming. The proposed two-level approach consists in decomposition of the general problem into independent subproblems solved at the first level and coordinated at the second, with an iterative procedure used for both levels. Two treatment variants, model coordination and goal coordination, are presented and illustrated for comparative evaluation. The approach is intended mainly for large systems where integrated treatment may require excessive computer time or memory capacity, or both, but also may prove useful elsewhere.