Minimum Weight Design of Stress Limited Trusses

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Abstract
A procedure based on the force method of analysis and using linear programming is presented for a minimum weight optimum design of stress limited indeterminate trusses. The problem is initially cast as a linear optimization problem considering only equilibrium conditions and stress limits. Thereafter, additional approximate linear conditions are annexed to the initial formulation and the solution is repeated yielding a more nearly compatible design. The process is then repeated refining these additional conditions in each iteration until a compatible design is obtained. The simplex method is used to solve the linear programming problem in each iteration cycle. The relatively simple mathematical programming formulation is shown to be efficient as well as having the ability to modify the configuration of the structure by vanishing unnecessary members. A computer program based on this method and the results of some examples are presented.

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