Optimum Design of Columns Under Elastic Buckling Available to Purchase

In this paper, a generalized approach is developed to optimize column configuration subjected to buckling load. The configuration utilizes B-spline contour to provide more freedom to model the column shape. Previous columns in literature use tapered or parabolic tapered for configuration. This work considers hinged-hinged columns of circular solid cross-sectional area. Two sample applications are optimized using Genetic Algorithm with the finite difference method to satisfy the buckling constraints. The length and load are fixed. The objective is to minimize the volume considering the cross-sectional diameters as the design variables. B-Spline quadratic with three and five control points and cubic with five control points are applied. The proposed configuration is compared with tapered and parabolic tapered columns. Results show that continuity provides a better optimum against column buckling than other tapered columns. Even though volume is more than some configurations by about 1.67%, but those configurations would not satisfy buckling constraints over the entire length of the column.