Optimal design of offshore jacket platform using enhanced colliding bodies optimization algorithm

Abstract

Given the considerable volume of materials used in jacket platforms, structural optimization of these structures is always of interest. In the design optimization of offshore jacket platforms, the objective function is iteratively evaluated through a number of complex and time-consuming analyses making the optimization process computationally expensive. To reduce the computational costs, therefore, it is imperative to investigate efficient optimization algorithms with a high convergence rate to achieve optimal solutions for offshore jacket structures as a large-scale and complex problem. Accordingly, this research studies the application of a novel metaheuristic algorithm called Enhanced Colliding Bodies Optimization (ECBO) for the design optimization of a real jacket platform, SPD19A. The optimization constraints comprise stress and buckling in the members, horizontal displacements at the working point, and structural adequacy control of connections. The optimization results are subsequently compared to a design optimized by the Genetic Algorithm (GA), as an example, to evaluate the efficiency of the ECBO algorithm for the offshore jacket structure. The outcomes indicate that ECBO optimizes the jacket more effectively by 15%, while the optimization ratio of GA is 11%. Hence, the results confirm that ECBO has great and favorable efficiency and can potently escape from local optima to reach a better design for the jacket structure.