Comparative analysis of deterministic and reliability-based structural optimization methods

Abstract

Optimization is the act of obtaining the best possible result under established conditions. Usually, the optimization of a structural design is done considering the structure's dimensions, the materials' properties, and the loads as deterministic values. This way, the optimization process can lead to a more economical design without guaranteeing that this structure is safe. In practice, there are always uncertainties about the final dimensions of the built structure, material properties, and loads. Then, the need arises to use design optimization techniques based on reliability to guarantee a project that is both economical and safe. This objective is achieved by including uncertainties in the optimization process. This article evaluates the parameters that determine the global minimum of the optimization methods DDO (Deterministic Design Optimization) and RBDO (Reliability-Based Design Optimization). This work aims to compare the structural optimization methods of DDO and RBDO through an example. The results are obtained through the codes of the methods implemented in the Python language and show that when comparing the two optimization methods, the presence of uncertainties alters the optimal solution.