TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ozimboski, Joel M. 
AU  - Pravia, Zacarias M.C. 
AU  - Kripka, Moacir 
PY  - 2020
TI  - Optimization of Reinforced Concrete Beams and Steel Beams: A Comparative Study
JF  - International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research
VL  - 4
IS  - 1
DO  - 10.3844/sgamrsp.2020.160.167
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/sgamrsp.2020.160.167
AB  - In order to support the structural designer with regard to the selection of structural materials, this work presents results obtained from the optimization of reinforced concrete beams and welded “I” steel beams. To achieve this objective, both problems were formulated according to Brazilian standards, considering the cost as objective function and section dimensions as design variables. For the optimization of the proposed problems, Simulated Annealing optimization algorithm was adopted. Beams were optimized considering spans from 1 up to 25 m and two different loads. To the structures analyzed, the final costs for steel beams have always been higher than reinforced concrete, but concrete beams are significantly heavier than steel beams.