A practical least cost design of pre-cast reinforced ledge
beams is presented , The objective function is chosen to be-.
the cost of the beams. The design variables are represented
by the cross-sectional dimensions and flexural , shear,. and
torsion reinforcements. All structural behavior constraints
in accordance with the ultimate strength limit state
design of the Egyptian Code for Design and Construction of
Reinforced Concrete Structures, 1989. Arational approach is
presented to overcome the discontinuities of the shear andtorsional constraints. The optimization technique adopted is
the Method of Feasible Directions. Different starting points
and other optimization techniques arc used to --assess the
convergence characteristic a of the formulation, The technique is applied to practical problems, and. conclusions are drawn.