Optimum design of concrete cable-stayed bridges with prestressed decks

This article presents an optimization-based numerical method for the design of concrete cable-stayed bridges with prestressed decks. This method includes a structural analysis module and a sensitivity analysis and optimization module. The structural analysis considers concrete time-dependent effects, construction stages and geometrical nonlinearities. The discrete direct method is used for sensitivity analysis and an entropy-based approach is used for structural optimization. The design is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem with objectives of minimum cost, minimum deflections and stresses. Numerical examples concerning the optimization of a real sized cable-stayed bridge are presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method.