Software and Apps

Web Applications | Source Code | Commercial Software

Web Applications

LayOpt:Truss

This free to use web-app designs trusses for minimum material usage. Automatic simplification can be applied and the effect of multiple load-cases can be explored. The interface is easy to use and the rapid optimization process makes for enjoyable design exploration.

LayOpt:Bridge

🌐LayOpt:Bridge

This extended version of the LayOpt:Truss app adds a selection of new features targeted at the design of long-span bridges. Design-dependent self-weight loading is modelled in a conservative manner, allowing the change of optimal form between different scales to be explored. The interface also eases the specification of pattern loading cases, and allows greater investigation of the force distribution in each case.

Source Code

Truss optimization Python code

🌐Run the live script on Google Colab

Python script for numerical truss layout optimization employing the adaptive 'member adding' scheme. Supports problems with unequal stress, multiple loadcases, and concave design domains with holes — all in 98 lines!

MATLAB script for DLO analysis

🌐Download 'DLO_script_with_documentation.zip'

The core features of the Discontinuity Layout Optimization (DLO) limit analysis procedure, can be programmed relatively easily. Here the a demonstration MATLAB script for geotechnical problems using DLO is provided.

The downloadable ZIP file, provides a copy of the MATLAB file together with a detailed description of how it works and a copy of the conference paper where it was first presented at the NUMGE conference, Norway, 2010.

Python script for DLO analysis

🌐Run the live script on Google Colab

Python script for Discontinuity Layout Optimization (DLO) for solving plane strain limit analysis problems.

Two versions are provided: the basic version, ideal for learning the DLO method, and the standard version, which provides enhanced features such as the adaptive solution scheme, various boundary conditions, displacement field visualization, and optimized code for faster performance.

Vault optimization

🌐 Python Script for Vault Optimization

This code presents a numerical layout optimization method that uses the 'ground structure' approach to simultaneously optimize a vault's form and force flow topology. By formulating the problem as a conic programming problem, minimum volume designs that are globally optimal for any given numerical discretization can be obtained. See the accompanying paper for a comparison between this method and the well-known Force Density Method of form-finding, which demonstrates the material savings which are possible with this approach.

Vault optimization with self-weight

🌐Python Script for Vault Optimization with Self-Weight

This Python script extends the vault optimization approach to include the design-dependent self-weight of the structure itself. The topology of the structure and the optimal elevation are both shown to change with span, highlighting the importance of including self-weight accurately.

In addition to the standalone Python scripts (which may be run without requiring any software licenses), there are also example files which integrate the Python routines into the Rhino/Grasshopper parametric modelling environment. For users with a Rhino 8 license, this provides a simple visual interface to change the problem specifications and view the output as a realistic rendering.

Commercial Software (free for academic use)

LimitState:GEO

🌐 LimitState:GEO

The Discontinuity Layout Optimisation method has been successfully implemented within LimitState:GEO, a commercial software application for geotechnical analysis.

Widely adopted by practitioners and available free of charge for academic use, the software provides a powerful and highly flexible modelling environment capable of addressing a broad range of geotechnical analysis and design challenges.

LimitState:GEO offers a unique capability for rigorous limit state analysis that sets it apart from conventional geotechnical tools. Its combination of computational efficiency and a clear, intuitive interface enables rapid solution of complex problems, making it particularly well suited to both research and teaching applications.

LimitState:SLAB

🌐 LimitState:SLAB

LimitState:SLAB is a commercial software application for reinforced concrete slab analysis.

By fully automating the classical yield line approach, LimitState:SLAB rapidly identifies governing collapse mechanisms and evaluates ultimate load capacity, with solutions typically obtained within seconds. Its application of the Discontinuity Layout Optimization (DLO) method eliminates the traditional reliance on assumed failure patterns and enables a more objective basis for slab assessment than conventional methods and tools.

With an industrial track record of over a decade and available free of charge for academic use, the software provides a flexible and powerful environment for analysing a wide range of slab configurations and loading scenarios. Its efficient solution process and accessible interface make it well suited to both professional engineering design and teaching applications.

Peregrine

🌐Peregrine

Peregrine implements advanced structural layout optimisation technology for the design of efficient truss structures. Available for use in both industry and academia (free for academic users), the software provides a flexible Grasshopper-based parametric modelling environment for generating and optimising structural forms under a wide range of loading, support, and material conditions.

Peregrine rapidly identifies efficient skeletal structural forms that minimise material usage while satisfying strength and stability requirements, enabling robust conceptual design solutions to be obtained in short computation times. Its combination of optimisation-driven form finding, user-driven refinement, and seamless integration within parametric modelling workflows makes it particularly well suited to early-stage structural design exploration in both research and professional practice.

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