SENSITIVITY OF STRUCTURAL JOINT STIFFNESSES WITH RESPECT TO BEAM PROPERTIES - A HYBRID APPROACH

In the optimization of frame structures the sizes of the beam members change, as do the stiffnesses of the joints where such members meet. I n this paper a method for calculating the design sensitivities of stru ctural joints to changes in the size of the members, using a finite el ement formulation, is presented. The method uses the initial joint sti ffness, predicted from a more detailed shell finite element model or e xperimental data, to calculate the design sensitivies for any number o f joint members. The method is developed into a computer program that does not require a finite element model of the joint. The formulation of the method and a test case are presented. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.