Project Barc

Beam structures are ubiquitous in architectural engineering and construction (AEC). End-to-end design of such structures, often made of modular elements connected with standardized joints, is a challenging task that requires configurational design, graph optimization, and parameter tuning and is performed in sequential feed-forward procedures. Developing tools to automate the design of beam structures is, hence, of crucial significance for the designers and engineers in the AEC industries. Below are some examples of real-world structures made predominantly by beam/truss components. 

Commonly, the finite element analysis of frame structures is performed by modeling their components with beam elements which are capable of undergoing longitudinal (axial), transverse (bending), and torsional deformations, unlike truss elements that can handle only the first one. Accurately capturing these deformation modes and their interactions makes the simulation of frame structures computationally more demanding than that for truss structures. The difference becomes particularly more noticeable and exceedingly cumbersome in the optimal design of large-scale frame structures, which has led to considerably fewer extensive investigations of this topic for such structures in the literature.

In Project Barc, we have developed a novel technique for the optimal design of frame structures with mixed categorical and continuous design variables. Categorical design variables are inherently discrete and their values belong to an unordered set of available choices. Examples of such variables in frame structures include beam cross-sections (profiles) and materials. In real-world applications, only a limited number of cross-sectional profiles and material choices may be available to design a structure due to various limitations such as manufacturing process and cost. For instance, the beam material may only be steel or aluminum, and its cross-section may only be I-profile or T-profile with limited options for their geometrical attributes. Therefore, for practical purposes, it is crucial to distinguish between categorical and continuous design variables, as the latter ones are free to take any value within their bounds and are more straightforward to handle. My publications on this topic are as follows:

• Ebrahimi, M., Cheong, H., Jayaraman, P.K. and Javid, F., 2024. Optimal design of frame structures with mixed categorical and continuous design variables using the Gumbel–Softmax method. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 67(3), pp. 1-19.