DISCRETE VARIABLE OPTIMAL DESIGN METHOD OF TRANSMISSION TOWER STRUCTURE

Considering the lattice transmission tower structure with varied components and a complicated form, it has been a research hotspot and difficulty for engineers to build and to develop a safe, reliable, economic and reasonable system. Therefore, the structural discrete variable optimization design method based on ACO for a transmission tower is proposed. Based on unifying the cross-section, topology, and shape variables into discrete variables, the optimal problems of four different levels have been transformed into the standardization traveling salesman problems, only with different size. It can be seen from the structural instance of a transmission tower that:the proposed optimal algorithms have a good performance in dealing with cross-section, topology, shape, and layout optimal problems, and clearly illustrate the physical implication and optimization criteria of different optimization components. In addition, the discrete variable optimal design method based on ant colony optimization for a transmission tower structure has some advantages with strong generality and easy programming in computers, and it also has a good prospect in civil engineering applications.