Keywords: structural shape optimization, finite element method, shape design variable, movement direction, weight minimization, concrete, reinforcement, volume ratio, ANSYS software..

The investigation, described in this paper, was carried out to find the optimum shape of a bridge pier with constraints on movement directions of the shape design variables; numerical results are presented. The minimization of weight is the objective, subject to stress constraints. As the bridge pier boundary can easily be modelled, the boundary variation method is employed for structural shape optimization. The prescribed movement direction of shape design variables is in the horizontal direction. A one-quarter of the bridge pier is modelled as concrete without and with reinforcement using ANSYS software; optimum shapes are presented for four individual load cases; the final optimum shape is presented for the combined load case. After weight minimization, a more uniform stress distribution is usually obtained throughout the structure. The reduction in volume is around half and two-thirds for models without steel and with steel respectively. The volume of concrete for the optimum shape obtained in this study is compared with that of the actual shape at the site; it is noted that further reduction of up to thirteen and thirty one per cent could have been achieved for these models; discretization errors for the optimal meshes and variation in pier volume with change in steel are noted.

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