Optimal Design of a Class of Welded Structures Based on Design for Latitude

Abstract

The minimization of the sensitivity of a design to variations in uncontrollable parameters is illustrated. The procedure is applied to the design of a class of welded beam structures which results in a low-cost design with minimal sensitivities. Dominant constraints are chosen which contain variations of the uncontrollable parameters. A dual objective function is formed and tradeoff curves are presented from which the optimal solution is selected. The minimization is carried out using the generalized reduced gradient method and other applications are presented.