Optimization of steel floor systems using particle swarm optimization

Abstract Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used for the design of composite and non-composite steel floor systems. The design problem is the minimization of the mass or the cost of a steel floor configuration subject to constraints related to the Canadian S16 design standard. The PSO algorithm was applied to three different steel floor bays. Outputs returned are the girder and beams sizes, steel deck profile, concrete slab thickness, number of interior beams and the number of steel studs needed per beam. Results show the PSO can consistently find the optimum floor configuration by minimizing the total mass or cost while satisfying all design criteria.