Evolutionary Structural Optimization in Shells Design

Abstract. In the paper the application of a GA evolutionary algorithm to the structural optimisation of free-form architectural shell structures, as large concrete roofs, is shown. The attention is focused on the need of different computational tools and on the problems involved in multidisciplinary design, as the communication and information exchange. The procedure herein described can be applied to more general problems, involving not only the structural performance, but even functional and constructive requirements. The proposed implementation of the algorithm is efficient, robust and particularly capable to avoid local minimum convergence. 1 Introduction The interest architects show for free-form structures has had a unexpected growth in last years, as many new buildings testify, due mainly to their plastic capabilities and to their similarity with organic shapes (Figure 1). From the structural point of view free-form shells belong to the typology of shape-resistant structures, in which the mechanical behavior is strictly related to the global structural spatial configuration, rather than to the properties of individual members (as for instance in the case of truss structures).