NEW APPROACH FOR RELIABILITY-BASED DESIGN OPTIMIZATION:MINIMUM ERROR POINT

Conventional reliability-based design optimization （RBDO） requires to use the most probable point （MPP） method for a probabilistic analysis of the reliability constraints. A new approach is presented, called as the minimum error point （MEP） method or the MEP based method, for reliability-based design optimization, whose idea is to minimize the error produced by approximating performance functions. The MEP based method uses the first order Taylor＇s expansion at MEP instead of MPP. Examples demonstrate that the MEP based design optimization can ensure product reliability at the required level, which is very imperative for many important engineering systems. The MEP based reliability design optimization method is feasible and is considered as an alternative for solving reliability design optimization problems. The MEP based method is more robust than the commonly used MPP based method for some irregular performance functions.

Research on Design Method of the Full Form Ship with Minimum Thrust Deduction Factor

In the preliminary design stage of the full form ships, in order to obtain a hull form with low resistance and maximum propulsion efficiency, an optimization design program for a full form ship with the minimum thrust deduction factor has been developed, which combined the potential flow theory and boundary layer theory with the optimization technique. In the optimization process, the Sequential Unconstrained Minimization Technique（SUMT） interior point method of Nonlinear Programming（NLP） was proposed with the minimum thrust deduction factor as the objective function. An appropriate displacement is a basic constraint condition, and the boundary layer separation is an additional one. The parameters of the hull form modification function are used as design variables. At last, the numerical optimization example for lines of after-body of 50000 DWT product oil tanker was provided, which indicated that the propulsion efficiency was improved distinctly by this optimal design method.

Optimization of volume to point conduction problem based on a novel thermal conductivity discretization algorithm

A conduction heat transfer process is enhanced by filling prescribed quantity and optimized-shaped high thermal conductivity materials to the substrate. Numerical simulations and analyses are performed on a volume to point conduction problem based on the principle of minimum entropy generation. In the optimization, the arrangement of high thermal conductivity materials is variable, the quantity of high thermal-conductivity material is constrained, and the objective is to obtain the maximum heat conduction rate as the entropy is the minimum.A novel algorithm of thermal conductivity discretization is proposed based on large quantity of calculations.Compared with other algorithms in literature, the average temperature in the substrate by the new algorithm is lower, while the highest temperature in the substrate is in a reasonable range. Thus the new algorithm is feasible. The optimization of volume to point heat conduction is carried out in a rectangular model with radiation boundary condition and constant surface temperature boundary condition. The results demonstrate that the algorithm of thermal conductivity discretization is applicable for volume to point heat conduction problems.

Cooperative differential games guidance laws for multiple attackers against an active defense target

This paper is concerned with a scenario of multiple attackers trying to intercept a target with active defense.Three types of agents are considered in the guidance:The multiple attackers,the target and the defender,where the attackers aim to pursuit the target from different directions and evade from the defender simultaneously.The guidance engagement is formulated in the framework of a zero-sum two-person differential game between the two opposing teams,such that the measurements on the maneuver of the target or estimations on the defending strategy of the defender can be absent.Cooperation of the attackers resides in two aspects:redundant interception under the threat of the defender and the relative intercept geometry with the target.The miss distances,the relative intercept angle errors and the costs of the agents are combined into a single performance index of the game.Such formulation enables a unitary approach to the design of guidance laws for the agents.To minimize the control efforts and miss distances for the attackers,an optimization method is proposed to find the best anticipated miss distances to the defender under the constraint that the defender is endowed with a capture radius.Numerical simulations with two cases are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed cooperative guidance law.

Minimizing stress concentrations around an elliptical hole by concentrated forces acting on the uniaxially loaded plate

When concentrated forces are applied at any points of the outer region of an ellipse in an infinite plate, the complex potentials are determined using the conformal mapping method and Cauchy＇s integral formula. And then, based on the superposition principle, the analyt- ical solutions for stress around an elliptical hole in an infinite plate subjected to a uniform far-field stress and concentrated forces, are obtained. Tangential stress concentration will occur on the hole boundary when only far-field uniform loads are applied. When concen- trated forces are applied in the reversed directions of the uniform loads, tangential stress concentration on the hole boundary can be released significantly. In order to minimize the tangential stress concentration, we need to determine the optimum positions and values of the concentrated forces. Three different optimization methods are applied to achieve this aim. The results show that the tangential stress can be released significantly when the op- timized concentrated forces are applied.