Analysis of outrigger numbers and locations in outrigger braced structures using a multiobjective genetic algorithm

Summary Due to its advantages, the outrigger braced system has been employed in high-rise structures for the last 3 decades. It is evident that the numbers and locations of outriggers in this system have a crucial impact on the performance of high-rise buildings. In this paper, a multiobjective genetic algorithm (MGA) is applied to an existing mathematical model of outrigger braced structures and a practical project to achieve Pareto optimal solutions, which treat the top drift and core base moment of a high-rise building as 2 trade-off objective functions. MATLAB was employed to explore a multiobjective automatic optimization procedure for the optimal design of outrigger numbers and locations under wind load. In this research, various schemes for the preliminary stages of design can be obtained using MGA. This allows designers and clients easily to compare the performance of structural systems with different numbers of outriggers in different locations. In addition, design results based on MGA offer many other benefits, such as diversity, flexible options for designers, and active client participation.