Optimal I-section of an elastic arch under stability constraints

The optimal I-section dimensions of a prismatic circular arch loaded by uniform radial pressure are sought with a view to maximize the lowest critical load for a given total arch volume. Both overall and local instability are considered. A so-called bound formulation of the min-max problem is applied and the resulting mathematical programming problem is solved using the Method of Moving Asymptotes. Numeical results are presented.