Research on Strut-and-Tie Models of Beam-Column Connections by Topology Optimization based on Moving Morphable Components

Abstract

It is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the strut-and-tie models of beam-column connections. In this paper, an explicit topology optimization based on moving morphable components was used to analyze the strut-and-tie models, which overcomes the shortcomings of traditional implicit topology optimization. In this method, the problem of generating a suitable strut-and-tie model is transformed into an optimization problem with minimum compliance under volume constraints. The optimal topology is automatically generated by a set of components that can move, morph, intersect, and overlap, and then the reliable strut-and-tie models are formed. Through three examples of beam-column connections under three load conditions, the strut-and-tie models under single and multiple load cases were analyzed, and the feasibility, validity, and high efficiency of this method were verified.

Keywords

• strut-and-tie models
• beam-column connections
• moving morphable components
• topology optimization