An enhanced charged system search for configuration optimization using the concept of fields of forces

The concept of the ‘fields of forces’ is utilized as a general model of meta‐heuristic algorithms from physics. This model is capable of representing the properties of different meta‐heuristics and in this paper, it is used to enhance the recently developed meta‐heuristic, the Charged System Search (CSS). The enhanced CSS is then applied to determine the configuration optimum design of structures. Comparison of the results for some examples, illustrates the efficiency of the enhanced CSS algorithm.