Cross entropy weight minimization of a compressive strut

• Main Authors: Micu, L. Alexandru, Obrien, Eugene J., Malekjafarian, Abdollah
• Other Authors: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Progress in Additive Manufacturing (Pro-AM 2016)
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Cross-entropy; Optimization
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/84407; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/41758
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In this study, a population-based optimization algorithm is used to minimize the weight of a compressive strut. A geometrically nonlinear analysis is carried out to get an accurate measure of the structure’s true capacity, allowing for individual member and overall structure (and sub-structure) buckling. To overcome the computational challenge of nonlinear analysis, the study uses a simple definition of the onset of instability and hence the number of iterations is cut to a minimum.