A Hybrid Imperialist Competitive Algorithm andHarmony Search for Optimal Design of 2D Steel Frames

Authors

  • Masoud Saadatmand * Member of the Engineering Organization of Mazandaran Province, Mazandaran, Iran.
  • Taha Bakhshpoori Department of Engineering and Technology, East Guilan Branch, University of Guilan, Iran. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5955-5495

https://doi.org/10.48314/jcase.v3i2.83

Abstract

Structural optimization remains a critical challenge in civil engineering, particularly for steel frame design under discrete variable constraints. This paper presents a novel hybrid metaheuristic algorithm combining the Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA) and Harmony Search (HS) to optimize the weight of two-dimensional steel frames. The proposed ICA-HS hybrid leverages the social-political assimilation mechanism of ICA and the memory-based improvisation of HS to enhance convergence speed and solution accuracy. The algorithm is evaluated on two benchmark problems: A 15-story, three-bay steel frame and a 24-story, three-bay steel frame, both designed according to AISC-LRFD specifications using discrete W-section profiles. Comparative results against standard ICA, CSS, CBO, ECBO, HS, and HBB-BC algorithms demonstrate that ICA-HS achieves competitive optimal weights (88,246 lb for the 15-story frame and 202,517 lb for the 24-story frame) with superior convergence stability. Statistical analysis over 20 independent runs confirms the robustness of the proposed hybrid. The hybrid strategy effectively balances global exploration and local exploitation, overcoming the premature convergence limitations of standalone ICA.

Keywords:

Steel frame optimization, Imperialist competitive algorithm, Harmony search, Metaheuristic, Discrete structural optimization, AISC-LRFD

References

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Published

2026-06-30

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026): Journal of Civil Aspects and Structural Engineering

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Saadatmand, M., & Bakhshpoori, T. (2026). A Hybrid Imperialist Competitive Algorithm andHarmony Search for Optimal Design of 2D Steel Frames. Journal of Civil Aspects and Structural Engineering, 3(2), 143-156. https://doi.org/10.48314/jcase.v3i2.83

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