In this paper the parametric study is carried out to investigate the effect of number of cells in optimal cost of the non-prismatic reinforced concrete (RC) box girder bridges. The variables are geometry of cross section, tapered length, concrete strength and reinforcement of the box girders and slabs that are obtained using ECBO metaheuristic algorithm. The design is based on AASHTO standard specification. The constraints are the bending and shear strength, geometric limitations and superstructure deflection. The link of CSiBridge and MATLAB software are used for the optimization process. The methodology carried out for two-cell, three-cell and four-cell box girder bridges. The results show that the total cost of the concrete, bars and formwork for two-cell box girder is less than those of the three- and four-cell box girder bridges.

Keywords: optimal cost, RC box girder bridge, non-prismatic, number of cells, enhanced colliding bodies optimization (ECBO) algorithm.

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