OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE-BASED DESIGN OF STEEL BRACED FRAMES BY PSO AND FA METAHEURISTICS

The main aim of the present study is performance-based optimum design (PBOD) of steel braced frames using particle swarm optimization (PSO) and firefly algorithm (FA) as two popular metaheuristics. Nonlinear pushover analysis is performed to evaluate the seismic capacity of the structures. PBOD employing nonlinear pushover analysis is an iterative process needed to meet code requirements. In the PBOD procedure developed in this study, the metaheuristics minimize the structural weight subjected to performance constraints at various performance levels. Two numerical examples are presented and the numerical results reveal that the FA possesses better performance compared with the PSO.