scholarly journals Separating Design Optimization Problems Into Decision-Based Design Processes

2008 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peyman Karimian ◽  
Jeffrey W. Herrmann

This paper introduces the technique of separation, which replaces a design optimization problem with a set of subproblems. This separation is similar to decomposition but does not require a second-level coordination. We identify conditions under which this separation yields an exact solution and other conditions under which the error can be bounded. We show that the decision-based design framework, which seeks to find the most profitable design, can be separated into a sequence of subproblems. We also apply separation to a motor design problem and demonstrate how the surrogate constraints and objective functions affect the solution quality. These results indicate a way to apply the principles of decision-based design to design processes.

2014 ◽  
Vol 984-985 ◽  
pp. 419-424
Author(s):  
P. Sabarinath ◽  
M.R. Thansekhar ◽  
R. Saravanan

Arriving optimal solutions is one of the important tasks in engineering design. Many real-world design optimization problems involve multiple conflicting objectives. The design variables are of continuous or discrete in nature. In general, for solving Multi Objective Optimization methods weight method is preferred. In this method, all the objective functions are converted into a single objective function by assigning suitable weights to each objective functions. The main drawback lies in the selection of proper weights. Recently, evolutionary algorithms are used to find the nondominated optimal solutions called as Pareto optimal front in a single run. In recent years, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) finds increasing applications in solving multi objective problems comprising of conflicting objectives because of low computational requirements, elitism and parameter-less sharing approach. In this work, we propose a methodology which integrates NSGA-II and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for solving a two bar truss problem. NSGA-II searches for the Pareto set where two bar truss is evaluated in terms of minimizing the weight of the truss and minimizing the total displacement of the joint under the given load. Subsequently, TOPSIS selects the best compromise solution.


2011 ◽  
Vol 421 ◽  
pp. 559-563
Author(s):  
Yong Chao Gao ◽  
Li Mei Liu ◽  
Heng Qian ◽  
Ding Wang

The scale and complexity of search space are important factors deciding the solving difficulty of an optimization problem. The information of solution space may lead searching to optimal solutions. Based on this, an algorithm for combinatorial optimization is proposed. This algorithm makes use of the good solutions found by intelligent algorithms, contracts the search space and partitions it into one or several optimal regions by backbones of combinatorial optimization solutions. And optimization of small-scale problems is carried out in optimal regions. Statistical analysis is not necessary before or through the solving process in this algorithm, and solution information is used to estimate the landscape of search space, which enhances the speed of solving and solution quality. The algorithm breaks a new path for solving combinatorial optimization problems, and the results of experiments also testify its efficiency.


Author(s):  
Minghe Sun

Optimization problems with multiple criteria measuring solution quality can be modeled as multiobjective programming problems. Because the objective functions are usually in conflict, there is not a single feasible solution that can optimize all objective functions simultaneously. An optimal solution is one that is most preferred by the decision maker (DM) among all feasible solutions. An optimal solution must be nondominated but a multiobjective programming problem may have, possibly infinitely, many nondominated solutions. Therefore, tradeoffs must be made in searching for an optimal solution. Hence, the DM's preference information is elicited and used when a multiobjective programming problem is solved. The model, concepts and definitions of multiobjective programming are presented and solution methods are briefly discussed. Examples are used to demonstrate the concepts and solution methods. Graphics are used in these examples to facilitate understanding.


2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamrul Hasan Rahi ◽  
Hemant Kumar Singh ◽  
Tapabrata Ray

Abstract Real-world design optimization problems commonly entail constraints that must be satisfied for the design to be viable. Mathematically, the constraints divide the search space into feasible (where all constraints are satisfied) and infeasible (where at least one constraint is violated) regions. The presence of multiple constraints, constricted and/or disconnected feasible regions, non-linearity and multi-modality of the underlying functions could significantly slow down the convergence of evolutionary algorithms (EA). Since each design evaluation incurs some time/computational cost, it is of significant interest to improve the rate of convergence to obtain competitive solutions with relatively fewer design evaluations. In this study, we propose to accomplish this using two mechanisms: (a) more intensified search by identifying promising regions through “bump-hunting,” and (b) use of infeasibility-driven ranking to exploit the fact that optimal solutions are likely to be located on constraint boundaries. Numerical experiments are conducted on a range of mathematical benchmarks and empirically formulated engineering problems, as well as a simulation-based wind turbine design optimization problem. The proposed approach shows up to 53.48% improvement in median objective values and up to 69.23% reduction in cost of identifying a feasible solution compared with a baseline EA.


Author(s):  
Masataka Yoshimura ◽  
Masahiko Taniguchi ◽  
Kazuhiro Izui ◽  
Shinji Nishiwaki

This paper proposes a design optimization method for machine products that is based on the decomposition of performance characteristics, or alternatively, extraction of simpler characteristics, to accommodate the specific features or difficulties of a particular design problem. The optimization problem is expressed using hierarchical constructions of the decomposed and extracted characteristics and the optimizations are sequentially repeated, starting with groups of characteristics having conflicting characteristics at the lowest hierarchical level and proceeding to higher levels. The proposed method not only effectively enables achieving optimum design solutions, but also facilitates deeper insight into the design optimization results, and aids obtaining ideas for breakthroughs in the optimum solutions. An applied example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Azarm ◽  
W.-C. Li

The objective of this paper is twofold. First, an optimality test is presented to show that the optimality conditions for a separable two-level design optimization problem before and after its decomposition are the same. Second, based on identification of active constraints and exploitation of problem structure, a simple approach for calculating the gradient of a “second-level” problem is presented. This gradient is an important piece of information which is needed for solution of two-level design optimization problems. Three examples are given to demonstrate applications of the approach.


Author(s):  
Damien Chablat ◽  
Ste´phane Caro ◽  
Raza Ur-Rehman ◽  
Philippe Wenger

This paper deals with the comparison of planar parallel manipulator architectures based on a multi-objective design optimization approach. The manipulator architectures are compared with regard to their mass in motion and their regular workspace size, i.e., the objective functions. The optimization problem is subject to constraints on the manipulator dexterity and stiffness. For a given external wrench, the displacements of the moving platform have to be smaller than given values throughout the obtained maximum regular dexterous workspace. The contributions of the paper are highlighted with the study of 3-PRR, 3-RPR and 3-RRR planar parallel manipulator architectures, which are compared by means of their Pareto frontiers obtained with a genetic algorithm.


Author(s):  
Jiantao Liu ◽  
Hae Chang Gea ◽  
Ping An Du

Robust structural design optimization with non-probabilistic uncertainties is often formulated as a two-level optimization problem. The top level optimization problem is simply to minimize a specified objective function while the optimized solution at the second level solution is within bounds. The second level optimization problem is to find the worst case design under non-probabilistic uncertainty. Although the second level optimization problem is a non-convex problem, the global optimal solution must be assured in order to guarantee the solution robustness at the first level. In this paper, a new approach is proposed to solve the robust structural optimization problems with non-probabilistic uncertainties. The WCDO problems at the second level are solved directly by the monotonocity analysis and the global optimality is assured. Then, the robust structural optimization problem is reduced to a single level problem and can be easily solved by any gradient based method. To illustrate the proposed approach, truss examples with non-probabilistic uncertainties on stiffness and loading are presented.


Author(s):  
Nodari Vakhania ◽  
Frank Werner

Multi-objective optimization problems are important as they arise in many practical circumstances. In such problems, there is no general notion of optimality, as there are different objective criteria which can be contradictory. In practice, often there is no unique optimality criterion for measuring the solution quality. The latter is rather determined by the value of the solution for each objective criterion. In fact, a practitioner seeks for a solution that has an acceptable value of each of the objective functions and, in practice, there may be different tolerances to the quality of the delivered solution for different objective functions: for some objective criteria, solutions that are far away from an optimal one can be acceptable. Traditional Pareto-optimality approach aims to create all non-dominated feasible solutions in respect to all the optimality criteria. This often requires an inadmissible time. Besides, it is not evident how to choose an appropriate solution from the Pareto-optimal set of feasible solutions, which can be very large. Here we propose a new approach and call it multi-threshold optimization setting that takes into account different requirements for different objective criteria and so is more flexible and can often be solved in a more efficient way.


2013 ◽  
Vol 748 ◽  
pp. 666-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Wen Zhang

In this paper we compare the performance of metaheuristic methods, namely simulated annealing and Tabu Search, against simple hill climbing heuristic on a supply chain optimization problem. The benchmark problem we consider is the retailer replenishment optimization problem for a retailer selling multiple products. Computation and simulation results demonstrate that simulated annealing and Tabu search improve solution quality. However, the performance improvement is less in simulations with random noise. Lastly, simulated annealing appears to be more robust than Tabu search, and the results justify its extra implementation effort and computation time when compared against hill climbing.


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