Abstract: Design optimization is a cornerstone in the development of structural systems to improve efficiency, safety, and sustainability. In particular, this has become a key strategy for contemporary engineering challenges that involve the minimal use of materials with very stringent performance requirements. Advances in computational techniques revolutionized this field and enabled engineers to solve complex, multi-variable problems with unprecedented precision and creativity. This systematic review covers a range of optimization methodologies. While classical methods, such as linear and nonlinear programming, provide strong frameworks for constrained problems, they often struggle with high-dimensional or non-convex scenarios. Evolutionary algorithms, including genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization, are highly effective in global optimization tasks but can be computationally intensive. The incorporation of machine learning has further transformed the landscape, enabling predictive modeling, pattern recognition, and adaptive optimization strategies. Hybrid models, combining such techniques, allow for flexibility with appropriate balances between accuracy and computational efficiency. The integration of such methods along with state-of-the-art technologies is the future in the area of structural engineering. As digital twins allow real-time simulating and optimization of their physical counterparts, additive manufacturing brings up new opportunities both within material and geometric design issues. Artificial intelligence acts for the automation of the designing process and delivers to new, sometimes hardly intuitively predictable solutions. This review therefore emphasizes the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration in addition to continuous innovation toward these challenges and provides a roadmap for sustainable and resilient structural design solutions.
Abstract: Design optimization is a cornerstone in the development of structural systems to improve efficiency, safety, and sustainability. In particular, this has become a key strategy for contemporary engineering challenges that involve the minimal use of materials with very stringent performance requirements. Advances in computational techniques revolution...Show More