Optimal Topology Design of Discrete Structures Resisting Degradation Effects

In this project we treat the problem of finding the optimal topology of a truss, so that stiffness after degradation is maximized. It is shown that for the problem setting at hand, the optimal topology has uniform relative degradation in all bars and the topology is unchanged from the topology for a truss not undergoing degradation. As is well known such a design can be realized as a fully stressed, statically determinate truss.