Effect of materials selection on the minimum cost for optimal design of reinforced concrete beams using hill climbing algorithm

Abstract

This research is to study the effect of materials selection on the minimum cost for optimal design of
reinforced concrete simple beams using Hill Climbing Algorithm. Cross sections of simply supported beams under
uniform load were designed for bending and shear strength according to standard of the Engineering Institute of
Thailand (E.I.T. 1008-38 strength design method). The total cost of beams was calculated from materials and labor
costs. From the study, it was found that the selection of steel grade affected the minimum cost of beams more
than that of compressive strength of concrete. Considering the selection of steel grade, it can be seen that SD40 gave the lower minimum total cost than that of SD30 for all compressive strength levels. From the result, it can be concluded that the Hill Climbing Algorithm can help to study the effect of materials selection on the minimum cost for optimal design of reinforced concrete simply supported beams.