Structural design optimization under dynamic reliability constraints based on probability density evolution method and quantum-inspired optimization algorithm

Dynamic-reliability-based design optimization (DRBDO) has been a promising approach for designing structures under dynamic excitations in the presence of uncertainties. This paper proposes an effective scheme for solving a class of DRBDO problems. The proposed scheme is based on the quantum particle swarm optimization (QPSO) algorithm, a quantum-inspired algorithm that utilizes quantum mechanisms to achieve better exploration and exploitation. During the optimization process, the probability density evolution method (PDEM) combined with the extreme value distribution strategy is employed to evaluate the structural dynamic reliability. Due to the high efficiency of the PDEM, the computational cost associated with reliability assessments can be considerably reduced. Numerical examples involving linear and nonlinear structures with different types of design variables are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed scheme.