OPTIMIZATION USING GENETIC ALGORITHMS

Abstract

Optimization algorithms are becoming increasingly popular in engineering design activities, primarily because of availability and affordability of high speed computers. Genetic algorithms have recently emerged as an increasingly popular family of methods for global optimization. The effectiveness of GAs has been seen by applying it in few mathematical examples of optimization and for one example the effects of different cont:cl parameters on the result have been studied through the plots drawn. A 3-bar truss has been optimized for minimum weight (along with the constraints on stresses in members and displacements of joints) to illustrate the working of genetic algorithms and the weight optimization of a 10-bar truss has been done to see the effectiveness of method as well as of the software made, by comparing the results obtained with those given in literature.