Abstract
In this paper the comparison of the first order approximation schemes such as SLP(sequential linear programming) CONLIN(convex linearization) MMA(method of moving asymptotes) and the second order approximation scheme SQP(sequential quadratic programming) was accomplished for optimization of nonlinear structures. It was found that MMA and SQP are the most efficient methods for optimization. But the number of function call of SQP is much more than that of MMA. Therefore when it is considered with the expense of computation MMA is more efficient than SQP. In order to examine the efficiency of MMA for complex optimization problem it was applied to the helicopter tail boom con-sidering column buckling and local wall buckling constraints. it is concluded that MMA can be a very efficient approxima-tion scheme from simple problems to complex problems.