A modified global optimization method based on surrogate model and its application in packing profile optimization of injection molding process

This article introduces a step-by-step optimization method based on the radial basis function (RBF) surrogate model and proposes an improved expected improvement selection criterion to better the global performance of this optimization method. Then it is applied to the optimization of packing profile of injection molding process for obtaining best shrinkage evenness of molded part. The idea is first, to establish an approximation function relationship between shrinkage evenness and process parameters by a small size of design of experiment with RBF surrogate model to alleviate the expensive computational expense in the optimization iterations. And then, an improved criterion is used to provide direction in which additional training samples could be added to better the surrogate model. Two test functions are investigated and the results show that stronger global exploration performance and more precise optimal solution could be obtained with the improved method at the expense of increasing the infill data properly. Furthermore the optimal solution of packing profile is obtained for the first time which indicates that the type of optimal packing profile should be first constant and then ramp-down. Subsequently, the discussion of this result is given to explain why the optimal profile is like that.     

Optimization of injection molding process parameters using integrated artificial neural network model and expected improvement function method

In this study, an adaptive optimization method based on artificial neural network model is proposed to optimize the injection molding process. The optimization process aims at minimizing the warpage of the injection molding parts in which process parameters are design variables. Moldflow Plastic Insight software is used to analyze the warpage of the injection molding parts. The mold temperature, melt temperature, injection time, packing pressure, packing time, and cooling time are regarded as process parameters. A combination of artificial neural network and design of experiment (DOE) method is used to build an approximate function relationship between warpage and the process parameters, replacing the expensive simulation analysis in the optimization iterations. The adaptive process is implemented by expected improvement which is an infilling sampling criterion. Although the DOE size is small, this criterion can balance local and global search and tend to the global optimal solution. As examples, a cellular phone cover and a scanner are investigated. The results show that the proposed adaptive optimization method can effectively reduce the warpage of the injection molding parts.     

A multi-objective optimization method based on Gaussian process simultaneous modeling for quality control in sheet metal forming

A new modeling method, related to multiple inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO), simultaneously based on Gaussian process (GP), is proposed to optimize the combinations of process parameters and improve the quality control for multi-objective optimization problems in sheet metal forming. In the MIMO surrogate model, for the use of the system information in processing and the accuracy of the model, quantitative and categorical input variables are both taken into account in GP simultaneously. Firstly, a general method is proposed for constructing covariance functions for GP simultaneous MIMO surrogate model based on correlation matrices. These covariance functions must be able to incorporate the valid definitions of both the spatial correlation based on quantitative input variables and the cross-correlation based on categorical input variables. Secondly, the unrestrictive correlation matrices are constructed by the hypersphere decomposition parameterization, thus directly solving optimization problems with positive definite constraints is needless, and the computational complexity is simplified. Compared with independent modeling method, the proposed GP simultaneous MIMO model has higher accuracy and needs less number of estimated parameters. Moreover, the cross-correlation between the outputs (quality indexes) obtained by proposed model provides some reference to further develop quality intelligent control strategies. Finally, a drawing-forming process of auto rear axle housing is taken as an example to validate the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method can effectively decrease the crack and wrinkle in sheet metal forming.     

A warpage optimization method for injection molding using artificial neural network with parametric sampling evaluation strategy

A sequential optimization design method based on artificial neural network (ANN) surrogate model with parametric sampling evaluation (PSE) strategy is proposed in this paper. The quality index, such as warpage deformations, thickness uniformity, and so on, is a nonlinear, implicit function of the process conditions, which are typically evaluated by the solution of finite element (FE) equations, a complicated task which often involves huge computational effort. The ANN model can build an approximate function relationship between the design variables and quality index, replacing the expensive FE reanalysis of the quality index in the optimization. Moldflow Corporation’s Plastics Insight software is used to analyze the quality index of the injection-molded parts. The optimization process is performed by a Parametric Sampling Evaluation (PSE) function. PSE is an infilling sampling criterion. Although the design of experiment size is small, this criterion can take the relatively unexpected space into consideration to improve the accuracy of the ANN model and quickly tend to the global optimization solution in the design space. As examples, a scanner, a TV cover, and a plastic lens are investigated. The results show that the sequential optimization method based on PSE sampling criterion can converge faster and effectively approach to the global optimization solution.     

Experimental-based optimization of polymer injection molding process parameters using anfis-ga method

Compared with ordinary injection-molded parts, the slender, cantilevered, and thin-walled plastic parts are harsh on the injection molding process conditions. For complexity and particularity, it is difficult to form such parts. It is also more likely to cause excessive warpage deformation, affecting the molding quality and performance. The automobile audio shell is a typical slender, cantilevered, thin-walled plastic part. When the mold structure and material are determined, optimizing its injection molding process is the most economical and effective method to manufacture the products with the optimum properties. In order to minimize the warpage deformation, the adaptive network based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and genetic algorithm (GA) were adopted to optimize the injection molding process parameters. In particular, considering the high-dimensional nonlinear relationship between the process parameters and the warpage, the ANFIS is constructed as the prediction model of the warpage. Then, the GA is used to globally optimize the prediction model to determine the optimal process parameters. The results show that the optimization method based on ANFIS-GA has a good performance. The warpage is reduced to 0.0925 mm while reduced by 88.25 %. The optimal injection molding process parameters are used for simulation and manufacture, verifying the effectiveness and reliability of the optimization method.

     

Process parameters optimization of injection molding using a fast strip analysis as a surrogate model

Injection molding process parameters such as injection temperature, mold temperature, and injection time have direct influence on the quality and cost of products. However, the optimization of these parameters is a complex and difficult task. In this paper, a novel surrogate-based evolutionary algorithm for process parameters optimization is proposed. Considering that most injection molded parts have a sheet like geometry, a fast strip analysis model is adopted as a surrogate model to approximate the time-consuming computer simulation software for predicating the filling characteristics of injection molding, in which the original part is represented by a rectangular strip, and a finite difference method is adopted to solve one dimensional flow in the strip. Having established the surrogate model, a particle swarm optimization algorithm is employed to find out the optimum process parameters over a space of all feasible process parameters. Case studies show that the proposed optimization algorithm can optimize the process parameters effectively.     

A three-dimensional surface measurement system implemented with Gaussian process based adaptive sampling

Self-adaptive surface measurements that can reduce data redundancy and improve time efficiency are in high demand in many fields of science and technology. For this purpose, a system implemented with Gaussian process (GP) adaptive sampling is developed. The non-parametric GP model is applied to reconstruct the topography and guide the subsequent sampling position, which is determined from the inference uncertainty estimation. A criterion is proposed to terminate the GP adaptive measurement automatically without any prior model or data of the topography. Experiments on typical surfaces validate the intelligence, adaptability, and high accuracy of the GP method along with the stabilization of the automatic iteration termination. Compared with traditional raster sampling, data redundancy is reduced and the time efficiency is improved without sacrificing the surface reconstruction accuracy. The proposed method can be implemented in other systems with similar measurement principles, thus benefitting surface characterizations.     

基于自适应代理模型的翼型气动隐身多目标优化*

针对翼型气动隐身多目标优化设计存在的计算量大与权重难以选取的问题,提出基于自适应径向基函数代理模型与物理规划的高效多目标优化策略(Multi-objective optimization strategy using adaptive radial basis function and physical programming, ARBF-PP)。利用物理规划法通过非线性加权的方式将多目标优化问题转化为直接反映设计偏好的单目标优化问题,然后分别对综合偏好函数和约束条件构造径向基函数代理模型,采用增广Lagrange乘子法处理约束,并用遗传算法(Genetic algorithm, GA)进行求解。优化迭代过程中,在当前可能最优解附近增加样本点,更新代理模型,提高代理模型在最优解附近的近似精度,引导搜索过程快速收敛。使用数值多目标优化算例与翼型气动隐身多目标优化实例验证了本文所提出优化策略的有效性。翼型气动隐身多目标优化结果表明：相比于初始翼型,优化翼型的升阻比提高了34.28%,重点方位角的雷达散射截面(Radar cross section, RCS)均值减小了24.19%。此外,在相同样本规模的情况下,本文方法所得最优翼型的气动隐身性能比静态径向基函数代理模型方法的优化结果分别提高了11%与25.6%;与遗传算法相比,本文方法所需的分析模型调用次数(Number of evaluation function, Nfe)降低了93.5%。     

Multi-objective optimization of MIMO plastic injection molding process conditions based on particle swarm optimization

Determining optimal process parameter settings critically influences productivity, quality, and cost of production in the plastic injection molding industry. Selecting the proper process conditions for the injection molding process is treated as a multi-objective optimization problem, where different objectives, such as minimizing product weight, volumetric shrinkage, or flash present trade-off behaviors. As such, various optima may exist in the objective space. This paper presents the development of an experiment-based optimization system for the process parameter optimization of multiple-input multiple-output plastic injection molding process. The development integrates Taguchi’s parameter design method, neural networks based on PSO (PSONN model), multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm, engineering optimization concepts, and automatically search for the Pareto-optimal solutions for different objectives. According to the illustrative applications, the research results indicate that the proposed approach can effectively help engineers identify optimal process conditions and achieve competitive advantages of product quality and costs.     

智能注射成形中工艺参数的多目标自学习优化

注射成形工艺参数是保障产品质量的关键因素.传统试错法严重依赖工艺人员的试模经验,随着注射成形工艺广泛应用于电子、航空航天等国家战略领域,产品的高端化对工艺参数智能化设置水平提出更高的要求.由于成形产品存在多方面的质量要求,且不同质量指标间可能相互制约,因此亟需一种工艺参数多目标智能优化方法,以获得不同优化目标间的帕累托...     

Optimal design of medium channels for water-assisted rapid thermal cycle mold using multi-objective evolutionary algorithm and multi-attribute decision-making method

Rapid heat cycle molding technology developed recently is a novel polymer injection molding process. In this study, a new water-assisted rapid heat cycle molding (WRHCM) mold used for producing a large-size air-conditioning plastic panel was investigated. Aiming at improving heating efficiency and temperature distribution uniformity of the mold cavity surface, a two-stage optimization approach was proposed to determine the optimal design parameters of medium channels for the WRHCM mold. First of all, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) combined with surrogate models was employed to search the Pareto-optimal solutions. Subsequently, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution was adopted as a multi-attribute decision-making method to determine the best compromise solution from the Pareto set. Then, the layout of the medium channels for this air-conditioning panel WRHCM mold was optimized based on the developed optimization method. It was indicated that the heating efficiency and temperature distribution uniformity on the mold cavity surface were greatly improved by using the optimal design results. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the optimization method proposed in this study was validated by an industrial application.     

自适应SA-PSO优化的威布尔混合分布参数估计方法及应用

针对采用传统参数估计方法得到的模型拟合误差较大的问题,建立多重威布尔混合分布参数估计的非线性最小二乘模型,并提出基于模拟退火（SA）思想的自适应粒子群（PSO）算法进行求解。在PSO算法优化过程中,采用自适应方法调整惯性权重和加速因子,加快其收敛速度;引入模拟退火机制,根据Metropolis准则确定最优粒子的取舍,改善其全局搜索能力。将该方法应用到某型柴油机喷油器失效分布的参数估计中,并与图解法、基于Levenberg-Marquardt的非线性最小二乘法、标准PSO算法、自适应PSO算法求解的结果进行比较,分析所提方法的优化性能及精度。结果表明,该方法能够有效提高多重威布尔混合分布模型参数估计的精度和效率。     

基于支持向量机的多目标模糊稳健优化设计

为了提高模糊稳健优化设计的计算效率,探讨了基于支持向量机回归机(SVR)的多目标模糊稳健设计方法,该方法以SVR作为非线性约束函数的替代模型,并采用SVR对模糊概率进行仿真计算,可显著降低模糊稳健优化设计的机时消耗;采用字典序优先级的目标规划法,建立了多目标稳健优化设计模型;把SVR与遗传算法相结合,构建了一种混合智能优化算法;通过多目标稳健设计实例,对所提出的方法进行了验证。     

An improved genetic algorithm for integrated process planning and scheduling

Process planning and scheduling are two of the most important functions involved in manufacturing process and they are actually interrelated; integration of the two is essential to improve the flexibility of scheduling and achieve a global improvement for the performance of a manufacturing system. In order to facilitate the optimization of process planning and scheduling simultaneously, a mathematical model for the integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) is established, and an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) is proposed for the problem. For the performance improvement of the algorithm, new initial selection method for process plans, new genetic representations for the scheduling plan combined with process plans and genetic operator method are developed. To verify the feasibility and performance of the proposed approach, experimental studies are conducted and comparisons are made between this approach and others with the makespan and mean flow time performance measures. The results show that the proposed approach on IPPS has achieved significant improvement in minimizing makespan and obtained good results for the mean flow time performance measure with high efficiency.     

Nonlinear predictive control of a drying process using genetic algorithms

A nonlinear predictive control technique is developed to determine the optimal drying profile for a drying process. A complete nonlinear model of the baker's yeast drying process is used for predicting the future control actions. To minimize the difference between the model predictions and the desired trajectory throughout finite horizon, an objective function is described. The optimization problem is solved using a genetic algorithm due to the successful overconventional optimization techniques in the applications of the complex optimization problems. The control scheme comprises a drying process, a nonlinear prediction model, an optimizer, and a genetic search block. The nonlinear predictive control method proposed in this paper is applied to the baker's yeast drying process. The results show significant enhancement of the manufacturing quality, considerable decrease of the energy consumption and drying time, obtained by the proposed nonlinear predictive control.     

Application of different surrogate models on the optimization of centrifugal pump

An optimization process for impellers was carried out based on numerical simulation, Latin hypercube sampling (LHS), surrogate model and Genetic algorithm (GA) to improve the efficiency of residual heat removal pump. The commercial software ANSYS CFX 14.5 was utilized to solve the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations by using the Shear stress transport turbulence model. The impeller blade parameters, which contain the blade inlet incidence angle Δβ, blade wrap angle φ, and blade outlet angle β ₂, were designed by random sample points according to the LHS method. The efficiency predicted under the design flow rate was selected as the objective function. The best combination of parameters was obtained by calculating the surrogate model with the GA. Meanwhile, the prediction accuracies of three surrogate models, namely, Response surface model (RSM), Kriging model, and Radial basis neural network (RBNN), were compared. Results showed that the calculated findings agree with the experimental performance results of the original pump. The RSF model predicted the highest efficiency, while the RBNN had the highest prediction accuracy. Compared with the simulated efficiency of the original pump, the optimization increased efficiency by 8.34% under the design point. Finally, the internal flow fields were analyzed to understand the mechanism of efficiency improvement. The optimization process, including the comparison of the surrogate models, can provide reference for the optimization design of other pumps.     

基于组合优化策略的动车组悬挂参数优化设计

为快速获得改善车辆横向平稳性的最优悬挂参数,提出基于自适应模拟退火算法和非线性序列二次规划算法的组合优化策略对动车组悬挂参数进行优化设计。建立动车组动力学模型,利用最优拉丁超立方抽样方法选取对横向平稳性影响较大的悬挂参数作为设计变量;以横向平稳性为目标函数构建Kriging代理模型,并利用可决系数检验代理模型精度;采用自适应模拟退火算法对代理模型进行全局范围内初步寻优,在初步最优解的基础上采用非线性序列二次规划算法进行局部空间精确求解。研究结果表明,基于Kriging代理模型和组合优化策略的优化效率明显提高,车辆横向平稳性得到显著改善,并且优化前后运行稳定性均满足要求。     

基于遗传算法的超精密切削表面粗糙度预测模型参数辨识及切削用量优化

建立易于分析各切削用量对粗糙度影响关系的表面粗糙度预测模型和最优的切削用量组合,是超精密切削加工技术的不断发展的需要。针对最小二乘法和传统优化方法的不足,提出了将遗传算法用于超精密切削表面粗糙度预测模型的参数辨识,并用于求解最优切削用量,给出了金刚石刀具超精密切削铝合金的表面粗糙度预测数学模型和切削用量优化结果,进行了遗传算法和常规优化算法的比较,结果表明遗传算法较最小二乘法和传统的优化方法更适合于粗糙度预测模型的参数辨识及保证切削用量的最优。     

Multi-objective optimization of injection molding process parameters in two stages for multiple quality characteristics and energy efficiency using Taguchi method and NSGA-II

In this paper, the parameters optimization of plastic injection molding (PIM) process was obtained in systematic optimization methodologies by two stages. In the first stage, the parameters, such as melt temperature, injection velocity, packing pressure, packing time, and cooling time, were selected by simulation method in widely range. The simulation experiment was performed under Taguchi method, and the quality characteristics (product length and warpage) of PIM process were obtained by the computer aided engineering (CAE) method. Then, the Taguchi method was utilized for the simulation experiments and data analysis, followed by the S/N ratio method and ANOVA, which were used to identify the most significant process parameters for the initial optimal combinations. Therefore, the range of these parameters can be narrowed for the second stage by this analysis. The Taguchi orthogonal array table was also arranged in the second stage. And, the Taguchi method was utilized for the experiments and data analysis. The experimental data formed the basis for the RSM analysis via the multi regression models and combined with NSGS-II to determine the optimal process parameter combinations in compliance with multi-objective product quality characteristics and energy efficiency. The confirmation results show that the proposed model not only enhances the stability in the injection molding process, including the quality in product length deviation, but also reduces the product weight and energy consuming in the PIM process. It is an emerging trend that the multi-objective optimization of product length deviation and warpage, product weight, and energy efficiency should be emphasized for green manufacturing.     

基于AWLS-SVM的污水处理过程软测量建模

针对污水处理过程建模中样本数据可能存在的测量误差对模型性能的影响,提出一种自适应加权最小二乘支持向量机(AWLS-SVM)回归的软测量建模方法。该方法基于最小二乘支持向量机模型,根据样本拟合误差,并结合改进的指数分布赋权规则,自适应地为每个建模样本分配不同的权值,以降低随机误差对模型性能的影响;同时采用一种全局优化算法——混沌粒子群模拟退火(CPSO-SA)算法对最小二乘支持向量机的模型参数进行优化选择,以提高模型的泛化能力。仿真实验表明,AWLS-SVM模型的预测精度及鲁棒性能优于LS-SVM和WLS-SVM。最后,应用AWLS-SVM方法建立污水处理过程出水水质关键参数的软测量模型,获得了较好的效果。