Optimal design for the connector of bridge prefabricated concrete barriers

The current optimization research on the connectors of prefabricated barriers uses experimental comparisons only and lacks theoretically based optimization methods as guidance. The primary objective of this study was to propose an efficient optimization approach to the connector design of prefabricated bridge barriers. This paper presents an efficient two-stage optimization approach to the connector design of prefabricated bridge barriers. In the first stage, the hybrid cellular automaton algorithm is used to perform dynamic topology optimization on the connector, and the best material distribution in the design domain is obtained. In the second stage, a kriging metamodel and genetic algorithm are combined to further optimize the size of the connector structure. With a prefabricated bridge as the engineering background, finite element models of a barrier system under impact load caused by a car crash were established. The above approach is utilized to optimize the design of the barrier connector. Results showed that the optimized connector structure greatly improved the overall performance of the barrier system while reducing the material consumption and costs. The proposed optimization approach can determine the optimal material distribution and size of the connector structure, thus providing guiding significance for the design and construction of connectors of prefabricated components.