General Outline
The competition will start with announcement of the truss optimization problem. All the necessary information about the optimization problem will be provided through the website. The participants are expected to solve the problem using their code. After completing the required items, the participants should submit their results in a single compressed folder which contains the requested files before the deadline. The winner will be selected based on the decision of the scientific committee.
Optimization Problem
The problem of this contest is a weight minimization challenge for a given truss structure. The geometry and topology of the structure is fixed and the only design variables are cross sectional areas of truss members. The participants will be asked to find the optimum feasible solution considering the cross-sectional areas of members as design variables. The design variables shall be selected from a list of available profiles. In order to facilitate the optimization process, a MATLAB code in form of a function will be provided which will perform the structural analysis and design of the truss and report the optimization objective value as well as the total amount of constraints violation. The participants will then be asked to perform a single-objective design optimization with the help of this MATLAB code and considering the given constraints.
Optimization Algorithm
In order to solve the problem, the participants are free to use any arbitrary optimization method.
Programming
The participants must submit an electronic version of their optimization code before the deadline of the competition. Note that using commercial optimization software is not allowed and the participants must prepare their own original codes. However, using the optimization functions of MATLAB is permitted. Please note that, in this competition, the acceptable programming language is MATLAB. The submitted codes will not be released and will be used for evaluation purposes only. Please also note that, since the provided MATLAB code is protected (.p file), participants are not expected to extract or use information not readily available such as nodal coordinates, member connectivity, etc., from either the code or its associated graphical output.
Submission
The optimization code, the results, and a brief description of the approach should be submitted in form of a single compressed folder (a single archive file, *.rar or *.zip) which contains the requested files. Check the Submission of Results page for further information. Note that late and incomplete submissions will not be accepted.
Criteria for Winning
To be the winner of ISCSO 2026:
- Your design should have the lowest weight in comparison with other designs.
- Your design must be feasible (i.e. no constraint violation is allowed).
- Your approach should be described well.
- Your code should demonstrate an acceptable performance.
It should be noted that, in case more than one team or student reports the same optimum design, another round of competition will be arranged only for those participants.
Announcement of the Winner
The submissions will be evaluated thoroughly by the scientific committee and the winner will be announced on 15 December 2026. Please note that the final decision of the scientific committee cannot be objected under any circumstances. Also please note that ranking will not be provided for the participants.
Hints
The following points might be helpful:
- Your code may only solve the given problem. It’s OK!
- You can perform numerous runs with your algorithm and report the best one.
- You can choose any optimization technique. Further, you may propose a new optimization algorithm or a hybrid form of previously proposed algorithms.
Prize
The winner, who could be a team or a student, will receive a certificate of excellence. If a team wins, the certificate will be sent only to the contact person of the team.