Optimized Design of Composite Cellular Beams: A Comparative Environmental and Structural Assessment
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This study aims to present the formulation of the optimization problem for steel-concrete composite cellular beams with steel deck slabs. A comparative analysis was carried out considering two scenarios, namely: (i) in the first scenario, the slab span and applied loads were varied, adopting slab configurations from a manufacturer’s catalog for spans of 5 m, 10 m, and 15 m; (ii) in the second scenario, the same span and loading conditions were considered; however, slab optimization was performed by introducing reinforcement, in order to evaluate the resulting impacts on the structural design. For both analyzed scenarios, the objective function was defined as the CO₂ emissions of the composite system, using the unit values proposed by Negrin et al. [1] for the materials employed in the optimization of the cellular beams. The design constraints were defined based on the recommendations of Lawson and Hicks [2]. To solve the optimization problem, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm proposed by Kennedy and Eberhart [3] was adopted, in conjunction with the Adaptive Penalty Method proposed by Barbosa and Lemonge [4]. The results demonstrate that the PSO algorithm was effective in identifying optimal solutions, and that the introduction of slab reinforcement, combined with optimal design, led to CO₂ emission reductions of up to 18% at the highest load levels analyzed.