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This handbook is to introduce the theory and applications of a performancebased optimization (PBO) method for topology, shape and sizing design of structures. The PBO technique can be used not only for maximizing the performance of structures but also for automating the engineering design process. Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars (“rebars”), reinforcement grids, plates or fibres have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is reinforced with iron or steel. Other materials used to reinforce concrete can be organic and inorganic fibres as well as composites in different forms. Prior to the invention of reinforcement, concrete was strong in compression, but weak in tension. Adding reinforcement crucially increases the strength in tension. Modern structural optimization techniques combine the finite element analysis with mathematical programming or optimality criteria methods into a single scheme to achieve optimal designs of structures. Topology optimization methods for continuum structures have achieved significant progress in the last two decades. These techniques have increasingly been used in aeronautical, mechanical and automotive industries in which the weight reduction of structures is very important. However, the potential of structural optimization techniques has not been realized by civil engineering industry. The main reason for this is that structural optimization is traditionally used as a tool for reducing the weight of engineering structures. The PBO method combines modern structural optimization theory with performancebased design concepts. Performance indices and performancebased optimality criteria are incorporated into the PBO algorithms to identify the global optimum. The handbook focuses in its main attractive features of the PBO method, its clarity in concepts, simplicity in mathematical formulation, ability to generate the global optimum and easy to understand.