Computer tool with intelligent behavior for the optimal preliminary design in non-braced structural steel frame

The optimization of civil structures is a technique whose purpose is to efficiently use the materials that make up the structural systems based on previously established restrictions and objectives. The use and development of these techniques has been closely linked to technological advance since, through the use of computer equipment, complex mathematical models can be solved with low cost and time. This article presents OPS Design v2.0, a computer tool that allows obtaining a preliminary optimal distribution of metallic structural profiles in a Non-Braced Frame System (OMF: Ordinary Moment Frame). The optimization model implemented in OPS Design v2.0 seeks to minimize the number of different profiles and the structure's own weight in order to reduce the construction complexity and the weight per linear meter (costs in quantities of material). To evaluate its effectiveness, a case study was developed where it was concluded that the designs produced by the application are more efficient than those obtained by commercial tools, thus reducing the computational expense and time used by designers in iterative processes that are carried out in the initial phases project.