Optimal design accounting for uncertainty in loading amplitudes: A numerical investigation

A numerical investigation is performed addressing the optimal design of stiff structures accounting for uncertainty in loading amplitudes. A minimum volume problem is endowed with a stochastic compliance constraint handling normal distributions and solved adopting mathematical programming. The formulation, originally conceived for a single load case, is extended to handle multiple load cases. Numerical simulations are performed to test the proposed algorithms, pointing out features of the numerical procedures and peculiarities of the stochastic-based optimal solutions achieved for different values of the second-order moments. Comparisons with respect to conventional deterministic layouts are provided as well.