Optimization of Steel Consumption for Prestressed Spatial Arch-Supported Partial Single-Layer Reticulated Shells

Steel smelting and production produces a large amount of exhaust gas, which is damaging to the environment. Prestressed spatial arch-supported partial single-layer reticulated shells (PSASPSRSs) are introduced to promote sustainable development in the construction industry. An optimization strategy based on uniform design experiments and iterations is proposed with respect to the design of PSASPSRSs. The optimization aims to reduce steel consumption as much as possible. The optimization constraint takes into account the stability coefficient, frequency, and deflection of the structures. The search space gradually shrinks around the local optimal solution and moves toward the global optimal solution during the optimization process. The optimization procedure stops when the error between local optimal solutions is less than the permitted error of 5%. The tensile force of the prestressed cable, the unified design stress ratio of the members, and the radial grid number of the single-layer reticulated shells act as optimization variables in the finite element model. The parametric analysis revealed that the radial grid number of single-layer reticulated shells significantly affected steel consumption, which was reduced by 13% in the optimized structure. The effectiveness and the practicality of the proposed optimization strategy in the initial design of complicated space grid structures are systematically illustrated.