A FORTRAN program which inputs constraint functions directly in their functional form is developed and incorporated into the structural optimization program to enhance the flexibility.
User input functions are analyzed in the program and expressed as a form suitable for computer storage and efficient computation. Data structures representing the functions are designed so as to calculate the function values and their derivatives efficiently.
By inputting constraint functions directly, complex constraints composed of design variables, displacements, stresses and natural frequencies can be easily dealt with in the general purpose structural optimization programs.
Several examples are tested and the practicality of the proposed method is demonstrated.
