Link-Length Minimization in Networks

Three general methods are described for attacking link-length minimization problems. All methods assume a system of fixed points that are to be interconnected by a network of links the sum of whose lengths is a minimum. In the mechanical and numeric-analytic methods, the interconnections are made through a specified number of junction points whose locations are to be determined although the connections thereto are specified initially. Constraints on the variable points and weighting of links are possible. In the soap-film method, network configurations are produced directly without assuming variable points or junctions.