APPLICATION OF TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION TO PRESTRESSED SLABS WITH UNBONDED TENDONS

Resumo

The use of prestressing, especially unbonded type, has become increasingly common in building floors, bringing benefits to concrete by reducing or even eliminating tensile stresses in the structure. Researchers and structural engineers have been seeking design concepts that maximize the efficiency of the concrete-prestressing interaction. One tool for this is the use of topology optimization (TO), although it is understood that TO, by itself, generates conceptual designs that may not be practical or fully detailed, often requiring the application of shape and size optimization to refine the solution. The solutions obtained must be analyzed considering various alternative elements of the problem, such as: the optimization models (design variables, objective function, and constraints), the finite element models used, the numerical modeling of prestressing, the constitutive models of materials, material parameterization, the type of loading, boundary conditions, and the optimization algorithm. The aim of this work is to conduct an in-depth study on the application of topology optimization to prestressed concrete floors, particularly unbonded ones, to analyze the influence of the above cited elements involved in the optimized solutions. Abaqus, a finite element analysis software, presents itself as a suitable tool for TO and has been used in this work. Some results obtained by this study have been provided significant contributions to the advancement of research in topology optimization for the case of prestressed slabs.