Abstract: The optimization technique has been a useful tool for engineering design and utilized by researchers for thirty years. The wide application of the technique is assured by the advent of Artifical Intelligence (AI) and knowledge-Expert System. The principles and backgrouds of ESOPD, an expert system for structural optimization, are presented in this paper. The creation of knowledge base, the choice of inference engine and user interface are introduced briefly. The expert knowledge in ESOPD is shown in some detail.

Key words: structural optimization .Artifical Intelligence, expert system