Optimal Structural Design in the USSR

Abstract

Studies in structural optimization in Russia began more than a century ago and initially satisfied the needs of railroad engineering. Later Soviet academic researchers and engineers considered the optimum design of compressed and twisted bars, beams, arches, rigid frames, plates, shells, and various 3D structures under single and multiple statical, dynamical, and moving loads. Some new formulations of the optimization problems have been introduced and solved using classical and new mathematical methods. Several hundred contributions are briefly covered with references to 50 bibliographical sources.