A parameteric study on the design of optimal dome structures using a genetic algorithm(GA) is investigated. In a design, preferences for the dome shapes and costs are considered. The optimal design criteria for the dome are the selection of the dome s...
A parameteric study on the design of optimal dome structures using a genetic algorithm(GA) is investigated. In a design, preferences for the dome shapes and costs are considered. The optimal design criteria for the dome are the selection of the dome shape, height, number of divisions and layers for the dome, and sectional areas for members. The size of the initial population, probability of crossover and mutation play crucial roles in GA because the algorithm searches globally and stochastically over the solution domain. The elitist preserving selection method is used and thus the reproduction process is not included. The fitness function involves items about total weight, stress of members, vertical displacement of joints, preferences for the dome shapes and costs due to joints. A computer program named GAODD(GA for Optimal Dome Design) is developed. A space truss design problem is used to verify the results from GAODD and to suggest values of parameters in GA. This study shows that the suggested parameters may be used in optimization problems such as space truss designs that account other conditions.