Abstract Topology optimization techniques have been widely used in structural design. Conventional optimization techniques usually are aimed at achieving the globally optimal solution which maximizes the structural performance. In practical applications, however, designers usually desire to have multiple design options, as the single optimal design often limits their artistic intuitions and sometimes violates the functional requirements of building structures. Here we propose three stochastic approaches to generating diverse and competitive designs. These approaches include (1) penalizing elemental sensitivities, (2) changing initial designs, and (3) integrating the genetic algorithm into the bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO) technique. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approaches are capable of producing a series of random designs, which possess not only high structural performance, but also distinctly different topologies. These approaches can be easily implemented in different topology optimization techniques. This work is of significant practical importance in architectural engineering where multiple design options of high structural performance are required.

中文翻译：

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在拓扑优化中生成多样化和有竞争力的结构设计的随机方法

摘要 拓扑优化技术在结构设计中得到了广泛的应用。传统的优化技术通常旨在实现使结构性能最大化的全局最优解。然而，在实际应用中，设计师通常希望有多种设计选择，因为单一的优化设计往往限制了他们的艺术直觉，有时会违反建筑结构的功能要求。在这里，我们提出了三种随机方法来生成多样化和有竞争力的设计。这些方法包括 (1) 惩罚元素敏感性，(2) 改变初始设计，以及 (3) 将遗传算法集成到双向进化结构优化 (BESO) 技术中。数值结果表明，所提出的方法能够产生一系列随机设计，不仅具有很高的结构性能，而且具有明显不同的拓扑结构。这些方法可以在不同的拓扑优化技术中轻松实现。这项工作在需要多种高结构性能设计选项的建筑工程中具有重要的实际意义。