English Abstract
Abstract:
In this paper, an optimum design algorithm is presented for reinforced concrete folded
plate structures. The design provisions are implemented by ACI 318-11 and ACI 318.2-14, which
are quite complex to apply. The design variables are divided into three classes. The first class refers
to the variables involving the plates, which are the number of supports, thicknesses of the plates,
configurations of longitudinal and transverse reinforcement, span length of each plate, and angle of
inclination of the inclined plates. The second class consists of the variables involving the auxiliary
members’ (beams and diaphragms) depth and breadth and the configurations of longitudinal and
shear reinforcement. The third class of variables can be the supporting columns, which involve
the dimensions of the column along each axis and the configurations of longitudinal and shear
reinforcement. The objective function is considered as the total cost of the folded plate structure,
which consists of the cost of concrete, reinforcement, and formwork that is required to construct the
building. With such formulation, the design problem becomes a discrete nonlinear programming
problem. Its solution is obtained by using three different soft computing techniques, which are
artificial bee colony, differential evolution, and enhanced beetle antennae search. The enhancement
suggested makes use of the population of beetles instead of one, as is the case in the standard
algorithm. With this novel improvement, the beetle antennae search algorithm became very efficient.
Two folded plate structures are designed by the proposed optimum design algorithm. It is observed
that the differential evolution algorithm performed better than the other two metaheuristics and
achieved the cheapest solution.
