This paper on "Structural Perfection :: Real or Imaginary (or the Place to FEA)" was presented at the NAFEMS World Congress on Design, Simulation & Optimisation: Reliability & Applicability of Computational Methods - 9-11 April 1997, Stuttgart, Germany.

Summary

This work has set out to define a Performance Index (Pl) that can be easily used to distinguish the best structure of those produced using the Evolutionary Structural Optimisation (ESO) method developed by Xie and Steven [1-4], or by any other method of structural optimisation. This work will show the PI, and its application to different examples. As well it will demonstrate that by using the ESO method it is possible to improve on the classical Michell pin jointed frame structures [6].