I just started using STAAD Pro through my college. I am modeling a steel structure and would like to automatically optimize the structure based solely on total deflection (global maximum deflection) and weight. I want each value (deflection and weight) to be weighted according to its importance in the design to yield a maximum score. I can't figure out how to do this. I know there are member optimization routines for various predefined codes, but the codes aren't relevant to this project.
I would like to test varied combinations of steel sections from User Tables to optimize weight and maximum aggregate deflection (of a span) from two different loading cases of the same structure.
Can anyone help me with this problem?