After mentioning a very simple example of using the Revit Structural analytical model to find connected structural elements two days ago, here is a presentation of some more advanced structural optimisation in case you are interested in going further in this area, beyond the pure Revit API:
Al Fisher and Shrikant Sharma of UK-based Buro Happold Engineers published a whitepaper on
exploiting the Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis Professional API for structural optimisation.
Its introduction says:
Access to an open API (application programming
interface) can assist in the automation of common
and repetitive tasks, helping to save time and
costs. The open API provided with Autodesk Robot
Structural Analysis Professional software enables
programmatic control of Robot, through which
sophisticated bespoke tools for structural design
optimization can be developed.
Within the construction industry, there is constant pressure to deliver projects more
effectively on multiple fronts. This is most notable in the desire to reduce project time
scales, while also consistently increasing capability and design quality.
This double-edged challenge leads designers to continually seek more effective ways
of working. In this white paper, we demonstrate the use of Robot Structural Analysis
Professional API to increase efficiency through automation of design processes, which
can help reduce time scales and simplify workflow.
Furthermore, with this automation capability, innovative design processes such as
rationalization, standardization, and design optimization become possible.
The whitepaper covers the following topics: