Structural Optimization and Optimization of the Design Process.

Present methods of structural optimization are regarded with scepticism by potential users. In order to find out points for judging this scepticism, the structural optimization is derived systematically as part of the optimization of the design process. It is shown that the attempt to optimize a complex structure of realistic size in a single, fully automatic process is not convenient because it often does not satisfy the requirements of the user for economy and reliability. Approved methods are available to separate the process, and the dialogue between the designer and the automaton may be a reliable alternative to the fully automatic process. In regard to existing limits to separate the process, the principal task of research in structural optimization will remain to develop problem fitting methods and to qualify them according to the requirements of the user. In this connection the interactive dialog should be taken into account more often than it has been.