| Summary: | Expectations and challenges of modern sustainable engineering and architecture stimulate intensive development of structural analysis and design techniques. Designing durable, light and eco-friendly constructions starts at the conceptual stage, where new efficient design and optimization tools need to be implemented. Innovative methods, like topology optimization, become more often a daily practice of engineers and architects in the process of solving more and more demanding up-to-date engineering problems efficiently. Topology optimization is a dynamically developing research area with numerous applications to many research and engineering fields, ranging from the mechanical industry, through civil engineering to architecture. The motivation behind the present study is to make an attempt to broaden the area of topology optimization applications by presenting an original approach regarding the implementation of the multi-domain and multi-material topology optimization to the design and the strengthening/retrofitting of structures. Moreover, the implementation of the design-dependent self-weight loading into the design model is taken into account as a significantly important issue, since it influences the final results of the topology optimization process, especially when considering massive engineering structures. As an optimization tool, the original efficient heuristic algorithm based on Cellular Automata concept is utilized.
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