Neural networks in structural analysis and design - An overview

The present paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art in the application of neural networks in problems of structural analysis and design, including a survey of published applications in structural engineering. Such applications have included, among others, the use of neural networks in modeling nonlinear analysis of structures, as a rapid reanalysis capability in optimal design, and in developing problem parameter sensitivity of optimal solutions for use in multilevel decomposition based design. While most of the applications reported in the literature have been restricted to the use of the multilayer perceptron architecture and minor variations thereof, other network architectures have also been successfully explored, including the ART network, the counterpropagation network and the Hopfield-Tank model.