Discussion of "Geometric Design Optimization for Dynamic Response Problems of Continuous Reinforced Concrete Beams" by P. Sharafi, M. N. S. Hadi, and Lip H. Teh

Researchers discuss the role of geometric design optimization for dynamic response problems of continuous reinforced concrete beams. They have published a paper, which develops a heuristic computer-aided design methodology for conceptual geometric layout optimization of multispan reinforced concrete (RC) beams under any type of dynamic conditions. The proposed method employees an ant colony optimization algorithm, takes the involved cost parameters into account, and can be used for different boundary conditions, support constraints, and loading systems. The performance and robustness of the approach is verified by solving the structural optimization problem for some design examples.