Regularizing structural configurations by using meta-heuristic algorithms

This paper focuses on the regularization of structural configurations by employing meta-heuristic optimization algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO). The regularization of structural configuration means obtaining a structure whose members have equal or almost equal lengths, or whose member's lengths are based on a specific pattern; which in this case, by changing the length of these elements and reducing the number of different profiles of needed members, the construction of the considered structure can be made easier. In this article, two different objective functions have been used to minimize the difference between member lengths with a specific pattern. It is found that by using a small number of iterations in these optimization methods, a structure made of equal-length members can be obtained.