structural engineering optimization

huangyhg

structural engineering optimization
we are looking for information regarding structural engineering optimization tools as applied to derricks, slef supported and guyed stacks and may be pressure vessels.
software or other resources are welcomed.

for plate element models the guys i know use optistruct, it is an altair product.
i'd have thunk for trusses (ie beam element models) that an optimisation by hand would be almost as fast.
cheers
greg locock
i think staad has an optimization module. nastran does as well. i had a friend who worked for an auto maker and they use nastran a lot. he told me once that they saved about 6 pounds on the car frame through optimization. i ridiculed the number but soon realized that is tremendous for a car. think of the gas mileage that would be saved.
good luck