Genetic algorithms for preliminary 2-D structural design

Preliminary structural design, in which the basic configuration or shape of a structure is determined, plays a crucial role in the early stage of the design process. Various computer-aided design (CAD) techniques to support the search for preliminary designs have been studied and applied. These include calculus-based gradient search, knowledge-based (expert) systems, and connectionist (neural) networks. Unfortunately, however, all these techniques have serious limitations. This paper presents a promising new technique, genetic algorithms (GAs), for generating good preliminary designs by using the mechanics of natural selection. Genetic algorithms coupled with a binary 2-D array representation scheme are used to solve a preliminary 2-D structural design problem and the results are presented. Optimal and nearly optimal preliminary design solutions obtained empirically demonstrate the efficacy of applying GAs to problems involving 2-D geometric features.