COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE APPLIED IN OPTIMAL DESIGN OF WOODEN PLANE TRUSSES

Abstract

The use of wood is widespread in rural constructions, and the truss systems stand out among its various applications. This specific system has several typologies and requires a thorough study to determine the most advantageous model for each project. The present study aims to apply the Computational Intelligence concepts to determine the minimum viable cross-section of a Howe truss. For the computational simulation, methods like Finite Elements were used to obtain the loads and the Firefly Algorithm for the optimization process, focusing on minimizing the total weight of the structural part. Studies were conducted varying the spans of the elements and the height to span ratio. The design assumptions for establishing the optimization method’s constraints follow the recommendations of the Brazilian standard for wood design, ABNT NBR 7190 (1997). Weights between 95.42 kg and 653.57