Optimization of a 2D reinforced concrete frame considering a seismic load via cross-entropy method

Resumo

Finding an optimal design for reinforced concrete structures to attend a specific goal is a desirable
step for engineers. This paper aims to optimize the dimensions of columns and beams of a 2D reinforced concrete
frame subjected to a dynamic load. The structure considered has the specific goal to attend for a seismic action, and
this is an important search, since structures in Brazil, for many years, were built with no consideration regarding
seismic events. Even after ABNT NBR 15421 (2006) [1] was released, seismic actions were still not considered by
most engineers during the design phase, according to Miranda et al. [2], which can lead to catastrophic structural
damages if events like these happens in urban regions. The problem is formulated in terms of the dynamical
seismic response of 2D reinforced concrete frame, and the optimization algorithm used considers a stochastic
solution strategy combining penalization and the cross-entropy method, proposed by Cunha [3]. The consideration
of the probability of failure and cost of failure on the objective function makes it a Risk Optimization problem.