Genetic algorithm application on optimal design of strip foundation

According to the tedious design conditions and the difficulty to determine the optimal plan in underground foundation engineering design field at present, genetic algorithm was proposed and applied into the design of conventional reinforced concrete strip foundation. The coding method, operation procedure and penalty function of genetic algorithm were improved according to the specific issues. The project cost was selected as objective function, and bending resistance, shearing resistance and detailing requirements ruled by specification as constraint condition, the improved genetic algorithm was applied into optimization design. The results indicated that the algorithm can quickly converge to optimal solution. The optimal scheme was determined, which meet bending resistance, shearing resistance bearing capacity requirements, and construction conditions ruled by specification, at the same time project cost is lowest. This method reached to safety and economic double standard, and also improved the efficiency. © Hui et al.