Finite Element Model Update of Cable Supported Bridges Using Large Scale Global Optimization Technique

An effective optimization method is introduced for the finite element model update of cable- supported bridges. When typical model update methods are applied, there are some difficulties in solving the optimization problem such as local, pre-matured, non-satisfactory solutions due to the large number of updating parameters. Thus, in order to solve the minimization problem effectively, we adopt a large scale global optimization technique which can utilize several algorithms simultaneously. The proposed method is based on the Multiple Offspring Sampling (MOS) framework in which multiple optimization algorithms including genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization are dynamically combined to produce the global optimal solution. The application example of an existing suspension bridge shows that the proposed method can be effective to update dynamic finite element models.