Charged system search for optimal design of frame structures

The charged system search (CSS) algorithm is utilized for design of frame structures. The algorithm is inspired by the laws in physics. The CSS utilizes a number of charged particles which influence each other based on their fitness values and their separation distances considering the governing law of Coulomb. A comparison between the characteristics of the CSS algorithm and other well-known meta-heuristics is performed to indicate their similarities and differences. Some benchmark frame examples are optimized with the CSS algorithm. Comparison of the results of CSS with some other meta-heuristic algorithms shows the robustness of the new algorithm. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.