Optimal layout of elastoplastic grillages for multiple-load cases with displacement and strain constraints

Beam grillages are commonly used to form bridge decks and building floorplates. Although analytical means of identifying optimal beam grillage layouts were developed in the 1970s, various issues limited their practical usefulness. More recently, a ground-structure-based numerical layout optimization approach was proposed to identify optimal beam grillages, overcoming the limitations of previous analytical methods and solving plastic design problems rapidly. However, in engineering practice, both ultimate and serviceability limit states need to be considered in the design process. To address this, here, a novel method capable of handling non-linear material models, displacement constraints and strain constraints, and multiple-load cases is applied to beam grillage optimization problems. Example problems of varying complexity are then used to verify and demonstrate the novel capabilities of the method.