Abstract
A new algorithm is presented for design sensitivity analysis of elasto-plastic response of trusses. The algorithm is based on the incremental perturbation method which utilizes the higher order differential coefficients of response with respect to a loading or path parameter. All the governing equations are differentiated with respect to the design variable to find the sensitivity coefficients of the response variables such as displacements and stresses as well as the values of the path parameter at which yielding or unloading occurs in a member. Since the proposed algorithm incorporates the formulation of the incremental perturbation method for response analysis, and since no iterative process is needed, the design sensitivity coefficients of good accuracy can be easily calculated. Efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated in the examples of plane trusses and the results are compared with those by the Newton-Raphson type iterative algorithm.
