Variable fidelity design of pressure bulkhead with heuristic optimization methods

[fche...@gmail.com]

Dear all,

Here it is a reference on the application of heuristic optimization
methods and variable fidelity in the design optimization of a pressure
bulkhead:

F. A. C. Viana, V. Steffen Jr, S. Butkewitsch, and M. F. Leal,
"OPTIMIZATION OF AIRCRAFT STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS BY USING NATURE-
INSPIRED ALGORITHMS AND MULTI-FIDELITY APPROXIMATIONS," Journal of
Global Optimization, 2009 (DOI : 10.1007/s10898-008-9383-x).

In this work, a flat pressure bulkhead reinforced by an array of beams
is designed using a suite of heuristic optimization methods (Ant
Colony Optimization, Genetic Algorithms, Particle Swarm Optimization
and LifeCycle Optimization), and the Nelder-Mead simplex direct search
method. The compromise between numerical performance and computational
cost is addressed, calling for inexpensive, yet accurate analysis
procedures. At this point, variable fidelity is proposed as a tradeoff
solution. The difference between the low-fidelity and high-fidelity
models at several points is used to fit a surrogate that corrects the
low-fidelity model at other points. This allows faster linear analyses
during the optimization; whilst a reduced set of expensive non-linear
analyses are run “off-line,” enhancing the linear results according to
the physics of the structure. Numerical results report the success of
the proposed methodology when applied to aircraft structural
components. The main conclusions of the work are (i) the variable
fidelity approach enabled the use of intensive computing heuristic
optimization techniques; and (ii) this framework succeeded in
exploring the design space, providing good initial designs for
classical optimization techniques. The final design is obtained when
validating the candidate solutions issued from both heuristic and
classical optimization. Then, the best design can be chosen by direct
comparison of the high-fidelity responses.


You can find more about it online:
http://fchegury.googlepages.com

All the best,
Felipe Viana