Optimal Plastic Design of Beams with Freely Variable Cross-Sectional Dimensions

Out of all structural components, beams are probably the most suitable for demonstrating various methods of optimization. On the one hand, beams are very simple systems which are idealized as one-dimensional continua, and thus the general principles involved are not obscured by computational complexities; on the other hand, most design problems can be demonstrated on beams because these members may be subjected to a variety of design requirements. Moreover, engineers can visualise the behaviour of beams relatively easily owing to their past experience with these structural elements.