A computational intelligence algorithm for expensive engineering optimization problems

The modern engineering design optimization process often replaces laboratory experiments with computer simulations, which leads to expensive black-box optimization problems. Such problems often contain candidate solutions which cause the simulation to fail, and therefore they will have no objective value assigned to them, a scenario which degrades the search effectiveness. To address this, this paper proposes a new computational intelligence optimization algorithm which incorporates a classifier into the optimization search. The classifier predicts which solutions are expected to cause a simulation failure, and its prediction is used to bias the search towards solutions for which the simulation is expected to succeed. To further enhance the search effectiveness, the proposed algorithm continuously adapts during the search the type of model and classifier being used. A rigorous performance analysis using a representative application of airfoil shape optimization shows that the proposed algorithm outperformed existing approaches in terms of the final result obtained, and performed a search with a competitively low number of failed evaluations. Analysis also highlights the contribution of incorporating the classifier into the search, and of the model and classifier selection steps.     

An optimization algorithm employing multiple metamodels and optimizers

Modern engineering design optimization often relies on computer simulations to evaluate candidate designs, a setup which results in expensive black-box optimization problems. Such problems introduce unique challenges, which has motivated the application of metamodel-assisted computational intelligence algorithms to solve them. Such algorithms combine a computational intelligence optimizer which employs a population of candidate solutions, with a metamodel which is a computationally cheaper approximation of the expensive computer simulation. However, although a variety of metamodels and optimizers have been proposed, the optimal types to employ are problem dependant. Therefore, a priori prescribing the type of metamodel and optimizer to be used may degrade its effectiveness. Leveraging on this issue, this study proposes a new computational intelligence algorithm which autonomously adapts the type of the metamodel and optimizer during the search by selecting the most suitable types out of a family of candidates at each stage. Performance analysis using a set of test functions demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, and highlights the merit of the proposed adaptation approach.     

求解差异工件批调度问题的改进型蚁群算法

针对最小化制造跨度的差异工件尺寸单批处理机调度问题,通过将其转化为最小化浪费空间的问题,采用候选集策略构建分批以减少搜索空间,利用基于浪费空间的启发式更新信息素,提出一种改进的最大最小蚁群算法。此外,在算法中还引入了一种局部优化策略,以进一步提高算法的性能。仿真实验结果表明,所提出的算法优于其他几种已有算法,验证了所提出算法的有效性和鲁棒性。     

A novel discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm for solving bayesian network structures learning problem

ABSTRACT

Bayesian network is an effective representation tool to describe the uncertainty of the knowledge in artificial intelligence. One important method to learning Bayesian network from data is to employ a search procedure to explore the space of networks and a scoring metric to evaluate each candidate structure. In this paper, a novel discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm has been designed to solve the problem of Bayesian network structures learning. The proposed algorithm not only maintains the search advantages of the classical particle swarm optimization but also matches the characteristics of Bayesian networks. Meanwhile, mutation and neighbor searching operators have been used to overcome the drawback of premature convergence and balance the exploration and exploitation abilities of the particle swarm optimization. The experimental results on benchmark networks illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, and the comparative experiments indicate that our algorithm is highly competitive compared to other algorithms.     

Selection of manipulator system for multiple-goal task by evaluating task completion time and cost with computational time constraints

The focus of this study is on the problem of manipulator system selection for a multiple-goal task by evaluating task completion time and cost with computational time constraints. An approach integrating system selection, structural configuration design, layout design, motion planning, and relative cost calculation is proposed to solve this problem within a reasonable computational time. In the proposed approach, multiple-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) is utilized to search for the appropriate manipulator system with appropriate structural configuration from a set of candidate systems. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and the nearest neighborhood algorithm are employed in layout design and motion planning due to their high convergence speed. Three methods involving a random search algorithm are compared to the proposed approach through a simulation. The simulation is done with a set of tasks and the result shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

A hybrid classifier combining SMOTE with PSO to estimate 5-year survivability of breast cancer patients

In this study, we propose a set of new algorithms to enhance the effectiveness of classification for 5-year survivability of breast cancer patients from a massive data set with imbalanced property. The proposed classifier algorithms are a combination of synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), while integrating some well known classifiers, such as logistic regression, C5 decision tree (C5) model, and 1-nearest neighbor search. To justify the effectiveness for this new set of classifiers, the g-mean and accuracy indices are used as performance indexes; moreover, the proposed classifiers are compared with previous literatures. Experimental results show that the hybrid algorithm of SMOTE + PSO + C5 is the best one for 5-year survivability of breast cancer patient classification among all algorithm combinations. We conclude that, implementing SMOTE in appropriate searching algorithms such as PSO and classifiers such as C5 can significantly improve the effectiveness of classification for massive imbalanced data sets.     

Online Ensemble Topology Selection in Expensive Optimization Problems

Simulation-driven optimization problems are often computationally-expensive, an aspect which has motivated the use of metamodels as they provide approximate function values more economically. To further improve the prediction accuracy the use of ensembles has been explored in which predictions from multiple metamodels are combined. However, the optimal ensemble topology, namely, which types of metamodels it includes, is typically not known, while using a fixed topology may degrade the prediction accuracy and search effectiveness. To address this issue this paper proposes a metamodel-assisted algorithm which autonomously adapts the ensemble topology online during the search such that an optimal topology is used throughout. An extensive performance analysis shows the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and approach.

     

A Genetic Algorithm for Multiobjective Robust Design

The goal of robust design is to develop stable products that exhibit minimum sensitivity to uncontrollable variations. The main drawback of many quality engineering approaches, including Taguchi's ideology, is that they cannot efficiently handle presence of several often conflicting objectives and constraints that occur in various design environments.Classical vector optimization and multiobjective genetic algorithms offer numerous techniques for simultaneous optimization of multiple responses, but they have not addressed the central quality control activities of tolerance design and parameter optimization. Due to their ability to search populations of candidate designs in parallel without assumptions of continuity, unimodality or convexity of underlying objectives, genetic algorithms are an especially viable tool for off-line quality control.In this paper we introduce a new methodology which integrates key concepts from diverse fields of robust design, multiobjective optimization and genetic algorithms. The genetic algorithm developed in this work applies natural genetic operators of reproduction, crossover and mutation to evolve populations of hyper-rectangular design regions while simultaneously reducing the sensitivity of the generated designs to uncontrollable variations. The improvement in quality of successive generations of designs is achieved by conducting orthogonal array experiments as to increase the average signal-to-noise ratio of a pool of candidate designs from one generation to the next.     

基于遗传算法的工业以太网环型拓扑优化

为了改善交换式工业以太网的网络性能,给出了其采用环形拓扑时的设计原则,并把它们等价为一个带约束条件的网络优化问题．然后通过设计遗传算法来寻找该优化问题的解,为避免遗传算法的早熟收敛,在进化过程中采用了基于混沌迁移的伪并行进化方案．最后针对一个仿真例子,对比了基于遗传算法进行拓扑优化前后的网络性能,仿真结果验证了该优化方法的有效性．     

不同容量平行机下差异工件尺寸的批调度算法

在容量不同的平行批处理机环境下, 针对工件带有不同尺寸和机器适用限制的最小化制造跨度的批调度问题, 提出一种有效的蚁群优化算法. 该算法基于解的浪费空间定义启发式信息, 针对机器容量约束提出两种用于构建解的候选集, 从而有效缩小搜索空间, 并引入局部优化方法提高解的质量. 仿真实验结果表明, 所提出算法具有较好的性能, 并且优于已有的其他算法.

     

基于改进蚁群算法的线缆路径规划技术研究

线缆布线是复杂机电产品设计中的普遍性难题。针对线缆布局设计中存在的效率低、可靠性差等问题,提出了一种基于改进蚁群算法的线缆路径规划方法。采用分段式空间划分方法对待布线空间进行环境建模,同时对布线空间进行栅格化处理,以获取三维布线路径的规划空间。为解决基本蚁群算法在进行路径搜索时路径点容易发散的问题,引入了基于重力规则的蚁群算法路径搜索策略,提高了路径规划的真实度。在仿真实验中,将所提出的方法与基本蚁群算法进行了对比分析,验证了该算法的可行性和有效性。     

A hybrid surrogate and pattern search optimization method and application to microelectronics

A hybrid method for robust and efficient optimization process is developed by integrating a new response surface method and pattern search algorithm. The method is based on: (1) multipoint approximations of the objective and constraint functions, (2) a multiquadric radial basis function (RBF) for the zeroth-order function approximation and a new RBF plus polynomial-based moving least-squares approximation for the first-order enhanced function approximation, and (3) a pattern search algorithm to impose a descent condition and applied adaptive subregion management strategy. Several numerical examples are presented to illustrate accuracy and computational efficiency of the proposed method for both function approximation and design optimization. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid method, it is applied to obtain optimum designs of a microelectronic packaging system. A two-stage optimization approach is proposed for the design optimization. The material properties of microelectronic packaging system and the shape parameters of solder ball are selected as design variables. Through design optimization, significant improvements of durability performances are obtained using the proposed hybrid optimization method.     

A stability investigation of a simulation- and reliability-based optimization

This study developed a reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) algorithm focusing on the ability of solving problems with nonlinear constraints or system reliability. In this case, a sampling technique is often adopted to evaluate the reliability analyses. However, simulation with an insufficient sample size often possesses statistical randomness resulting in an inaccurate sensitivity calculation. This may cause an unstable RBDO solution. The proposed approach used a set of deterministic variables, called auxiliary design points, to replace the random parameters. Thus, an RBDO is converted into a deterministic optimization (DO, α-problem). The DO and the analysis of finding the auxiliary design points (β-problem) are conducted iteratively until the solution converges. To maintain the stability of the RBDO solution with less computational cost, the proposed approach calculated the sensitivity of reliability (in the β-problem) with respect to the mean value of the pseudo-random parameters rather than the design variables. The stability of the proposed method was compared to that of the double-loop approach, and many factors, such as sample size, starting point and the parameters used in the optimization, were considered. The accuracy of the proposed method was confirmed using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) with several linear and nonlinear numerical problems.     

Optimum design of sensor arrays via simulation-based multivariate calibration

This paper is concerned with the optimum design of sensor arrays (i.e., electronic noses or tongues) using simulation experiments. The proposed design method considers multiple criteria simultaneously for the evaluation of sensor arrays, and a multiple objective tabu search algorithm was adapted to search for a number of Pareto optimum array designs in terms of those criteria. The evaluation of a candidate sensor array is based on its multivariate calibration model, which is efficiently estimated from well-designed simulation experiments. The method can be used to optimize the design of both linear and nonlinear sensor arrays.     

Automated database design for document stores with multicriteria optimization

Document stores have gained popularity among NoSQL systems mainly due to the semi-structured data storage structure and the enhanced query capabilities. The database design in document stores expands beyond the first normal form by encouraging de-normalization through nesting. This hinders the process, as the number of alternatives grows exponentially with multiple choices in nesting (including different levels) and referencing (including the direction of the reference). Due to this complexity, document store data design is mostly carried out in trial-and-error or ad-hoc rule-based approaches. However, the choices affect multiple, often conflicting, aspects such as query performance, storage space, and complexity of the documents. To overcome these issues, in this paper, we apply multicriteria optimization. Our approach is driven by a query workload and a set of optimization objectives. First, we formalize a canonical model to represent alternative designs and introduce an algebra of transformations that can systematically modify a design. Then, using these transformations, we implement a local search algorithm driven by a loss function that can propose near-optimal designs with high probability. Finally, we compare our prototype against an existing document store data design solution purely driven by query cost, where our proposed designs have better performance and are more compact with less redundancy.

     

基于差分文化算法的FIR数字滤波器设计

有限脉冲响应（FIR）数字滤波器的设计实质可看作是多参数优化问题。为高效实现FIR数字滤波器,将滤波器的设计转化为滤波器参数优化问题,然后提出差分文化粒子群（DC）算法在参数空间进行并行搜索以获得滤波器设计的最优参数值。提出的差分文化算法结合文化原理差分演进原理,是一种可用于实数优化的多维搜索算法。计算机仿真实验表明在设计FIR数字滤波器设计时,差分文化算法的收敛速度和性能都优于粒子群,量子粒子群以及自适应量子粒子群优化等算法,证明了该方法的有效性和优越性。     

An Algorithm Based on Tabu Search for Satisfiability Problem

In this paper,a computationally effective algorithm based on tabu search for solving the satisfiability problem(TSSAT)is proposed.Some novel and efficient heuristic strategies for generating candidate neighborhood of the curred assignment and selecting varibables to be flipped are presented. Especially,the aspiration criterion and tabu list tructure of TSSAT are different from those of traditional tabu search.Computational experiments on a class of problem insteances show that,TSSAT,in a reasonable amount of computer time ,yields better results than Novelty which is currently among the fastest known.Therefore TSSAT is feasible and effective.     

A generative design technique for exploring shape variations

Because innovative and creative design is essential to a successful product, this work brings the benefits of generative design in the conceptual phase of the product development process so that designers/engineers can effectively explore and create ingenious designs and make better design decisions. We proposed a state-of-the-art generative design technique (GDT), called Space-filling-GDT (Sf-GDT), for the creation of innovative designs. The proposed Sf-GDT has the ability to create variant optimal design alternatives for a given computer-aided design (CAD) model. An effective GDT should generate design alternatives that cover the entire design space. Toward that end, the criterion of space-filling is utilized, which uniformly distribute designs in the design space thereby giving a designer a better understanding of possible design options. To avoid creating similar designs, a weighted-grid-search approach is developed and integrated into the Sf-GDT. One of the core contributions of this work lies in the ability of Sf-GDT to explore hybrid design spaces consisting of both continuous and discrete parameters either with or without geometric constraints. A parameter-free optimization technique, called Jaya algorithm, is integrated into the Sf-GDT to generate optimal designs. Three different design parameterization and space formulation strategies; explicit, interactive, and autonomous, are proposed to set up a promising search region(s) for optimization. Two user interfaces; a web-based and a Windows-based, are also developed to utilize Sf-GDT with the existing CAD software having parametric design abilities. Based on the experiments in this study, Sf-GDT can generate creative design alternatives for a given model and outperforms existing state-of-the-art techniques.     

Wind Farm Layout Design Using Cuckoo Search Algorithms

ABSTRACT

Wind energy has emerged as a strong alternative to fossil fuels for power generation. To generate this energy, wind turbines are placed in a wind farm. The extraction of maximum energy from these wind farms requires optimal placement of wind turbines. Due to complex nature of micrositing of wind turbines, the wind farm layout design problem is considered a complex optimization problem. In the recent past, various techniques and algorithms have been developed for optimization of energy output from wind farms. The present study proposes an optimization approach based on the cuckoo search (CS) algorithm, which is relatively a recent technique. A variant of CS is also proposed that incorporates a heuristic-based seed solution for better performance. The proposed CS algorithms are compared with genetic and particle swarm optimization algorithms which have been extensively applied to wind farm layout design. Empirical results indicate that the proposed CS algorithms outperformed the genetic and particle swarm optimization algorithms for the given test scenarios in terms of yearly power output and efficiency.     

基于遗传算法的库存仿真及优化

为使成本费用的总和最小,利用仿真优化技术,以某制造企业为例建立了一种随机需求库存模型,并运用改进的遗传算法优化库存模型,得到了库存的优化候选策略。实例表明提出的仿真优化技术是有效可行的,可以为企业提供决策支持。