Multidisciplinary design optimization of engineering systems under uncertainty: a review

Abstract

PurposeAs an advanced calculation methodology, reliability-based multidisciplinary design optimization (RBMDO) has been widely acknowledged for the design problems of modern complex engineering systems, not only because of the accurate evaluation of the impact of uncertain factors but also the relatively good balance between economy and safety of performance. However, with the increasing complexity of engineering technology, the proposed RBMDO method gradually cannot effectively solve the higher nonlinear coupled multidisciplinary uncertainty design optimization problems, which limits the engineering application of RBMDO. Many valuable works have been done in the RBMDO field in recent decades to tackle the above challenges. This study is to review these studies systematically, highlight the research opportunities and challenges, and attempt to guide future research efforts.Design/methodology/approachThis study presents a comprehensive review of the RBMDO theory, mainly including the reliability analysis methods of different uncertainties and the decoupling strategies of RBMDO.FindingsFirst, the multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) preliminaries are given. The basic MDO concepts and the corresponding mathematical formulas are illustrated. Then, the procedures of three RBMDO methods with different reliability analysis strategies are introduced in detail. These RBMDO methods were proposed for the design optimization problems under different uncertainty types. Furtherly, an optimization problem for a certain operating condition of a turbine runner blade is introduced to illustrate the engineering application of the above method. Finally, three aspects of future challenges for RBMDO, namely, time-varying uncertainty analysis; high-precision surrogate models, and verification, validation and accreditation (VVA) for the model, are discussed followed by the conclusion.Originality/valueThe scope of this study is to introduce the RBMDO theory systematically. Three commonly used RBMDO-SORA methods are reviewed comprehensively, including the methods' general procedures and mathematical models.

Dynamic Reliability Evaluation and Life Prediction of Transmission System of Multi-Performance Degraded Wind Turbine

“…It is the ability to complete the corresponding functions within the specified time according to different purposes, requirements and occasions [27,28]. Commonly used reliability characteristics include reliability, unreliability, average life and remaining life [29][30][31].…”

A Reliability-Based Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Strategy considering Interval Uncertainty Based on the Point-Infilled Kriging Model

“…, x 7 , x 8 ) represent the design vector, and x u � (x u1 , x u2 , x u3 , x u4 ) represent the uncertainty design variable. For the optimization model shown in (29), the above models are decoupled from disciplines based on the CO decoupling framework. During the solution process, each iteration of the system layer and the discipline layer will be solved once.…”

“…At the same time, to optimize the performance of the entire system through a single-layer or multilayer optimization strategy, the multidisciplinary coupling problem is solved hierarchically [24][25][26]. Since the uncertainty in the subsystem is propagated in the multidisciplinary coupling, to quantify the impact of uncertain factors accurately and take advantage of MDO simultaneously, the RBMDO has received extensive attention and has become a research hotspot [27][28][29]. Zaman and Mahadevan [30] proposed an algorithm for reliability-based design optimization; meanwhile, they have proposed a specialized formulation to deal with the epistemic uncertainty caused by interval data.…”

Research on Optimization of Structural Parameters of Equipment Cabin Bottom Cover

“…Nowadays, there has been in-depth research on the optimization method of structural parts [5]. e authors in [6][7][8][9][10][11] separately optimized the structure of energy-absorbing structure, carbody structure, and the subway vehicle air-conditioning suspension.…”