Abstract
Nonuniform Timoshenko beams subjected to a given stationary random excitation are considered. The general equations relating the spectral density function of the response to the cross spectral density of the load are derived. The optimal shape of the beam is defined as the shape which, for given constant volume of the beam, minimizes the maximum root-mean-square value of the bending stresses in the beam. The shape of the beam is described by a limited number of orthogonal design functions, and their optimal combination is found by sequential linear programming with move limits. From numerical results it is seen that slight modifications of the beam shape give a considerable reduction of maximum r.m.s. stress for most loading cases.

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