Approximate cutting pattern optimization of frame-supported and pneumatic membrane structures

International Journal of Mechanics and Materials in Design - A simple iterative method is presented for cutting pattern optimization of frame-supported and pneumatic membrane structures for...     

Long-term observation of subcutaneous tissue reaction to synthetic auditory ossicle (Apaceram) in rats

The present study evaluates histological characteristics of the soft tissue response to long-term implantation of Apaceram discs composed of dense hydroxyapatite in rats. Discs were implanted into the subcutaneous tissue of 76 rats for six to 20 months. Decalcified histological sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H & E) and Mallory's azan were examined. Different cell types surrounding implants were counted. The greatest proportion of macrophages was found at six months (13.5 per cent). This proportion gradually decreased to four per cent at 20 months. Small numbers of lymphocytes and foreign body giant cells were observed in every group, but neither neutrophils nor osteogenesis were observed in any specimens. Results of the present study and previous related studies indicate that despite reappearance of a small number of macrophages six months after implantation, Apaceram is useful for reconstructive surgery.     

Necessary and sufficient conditions for global optimality of eigenvalue optimization problems

The necessary and sufficient conditions for global optimality are derived for an eigenvalue optimization problem. We consider the generalized eigenvalue problem where real symmetric matrices on both sides are linear functions of design variables. In this case, a minimization problem with eigenvalue constraints can be formulated as Semi-Definite Programming (SDP). From the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions of SDP, the necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for arbitrary multiplicity of the lowest eigenvalues for the case where important lower bound constraints are considered for the design variables. Received May 18, 2000     

Configuration optimization of clamping members of frame-supported membrane structures

A method is presented for configuration optimization of frames that have specified properties on nodal displacements, stresses, and reaction forces against static loads. The conventional ground structure approach is first used for topology optimization. A feasible solution with a small number of members satisfying all the design requirements except the stress constraints is obtained by assigning artificially small upper-bound displacement, or by penalizing the stiffness of a thin member. This way, the well-known difficulty in topology optimization under stress constraints is successfully avoided. The nodal locations and cross-sectional areas of the feasible solution are next optimized to obtain an approximate optimal configuration under stress constraints. The proposed method is applied to the design of self-fastening clamping members for membrane structures modeled using frame elements. An optimization result is also presented for a clamping member that adjusts deformation of membrane by applying a clamping force with a vertically attached bolt.     

Shape optimization of curves and surfaces considering fairness metrics and elastic stiffness

A method is presented for generating round curves and surfaces allowing discontinuities in tangent vectors and curvatures. The distance of the centre of curvature from the specified point is used for formulating the objective function which is a continuous function of the design variables through convex and concave shapes. It is shown that a shell with and without ribs can be generated within the same problem formulation if the minimization problem is converted into a maximization problem and the parameter region where integration is to be carried out is restricted in view of the curvature. Optimal shapes are also found under constraints on the compliance against static loads. A multiobjective optimization problem is solved by the constraint method to generate a trade-off design between roundness and mechanical performance.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Local and global searches of approximate optimal designs of regular frames

Methods of local and global searches of approximate optimal designs minimizing total structural volume under stress and displacement constraints are presented for regular frames subjected to static loads. Nonuniqueness of the optimal solution is extensively utilized for local search of approximate optimal solutions, where the search direction is computed from singular value decomposition of the stiffness matrix with respect to the cross‐sectional areas, or the sensitivity matrix of the constraints. The distance between the solutions is then defined, and the approximate optimal solutions are globally and consecutively found so as to maximize the distance from the already found solutions under upper bound constraint on the total structural volume. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated in application to a plane frame. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interactive Evolutionary Computation-Based Hearing Aid Fitting

An interactive evolutionary computation (EC) fitting method is proposed that applies interactive EC to hearing aid fitting and the method is evaluated using a hearing aid simulator with human subjects. The advantages of the method are that it can optimize a hearing aid based on how a user hears and that it realizes whatever+whenever+wherever (W³) fitting. Conventional fitting methods are based on the user's partially measured auditory characteristics, the fitting engineer's experience, and the user's linguistic explanation of his or her hearing. These conventional methods, therefore, suffer from the fundamental problem that no one can experience another person's hearing. However, as interactive EC fitting uses EC to optimize a hearing aid based on the user's evaluation of his or her hearing, this problem is addressed. Moreover, whereas conventional fitting methods must use pure tones and bandpass noise for measuring hearing characteristics, our proposed method has no such restrictions. Evaluating the proposed method using speech sources, we demonstrate that it shows significantly better results than either the conventional method or the unprocessed case in terms of both speech intelligibility and speech quality. We also evaluate our method using musical sources, unusable for evaluation by conventional methods, and demonstrate that its sound quality is preferable to the unprocessed case     

Non-uniqueness and symmetry of optimal topology of a shell for minimum compliance

Uniqueness and symmetry of solution are investigated for topology optimization of a symmetric continuum structure subjected to symmetrically distributed loads. The structure is discretized into finite elements, and the compliance is minimized under constraint on the structural volume. The design variables are the densities of materials of elements, and intermediate densities are penalized to prevent convergence to a gray solution. A path of solution satisfying conditions for local optimality is traced using the continuation method with respect to the penalization parameter. It is shown that the rate form of the solution path can be formulated from the optimality conditions, and the uniqueness and bifurcation of the path are related to eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the Jacobian of the governing equations. This way, local uniqueness and symmetry breaking process of the solution are rigorously investigated through the bifurcation of a solution path.     

Group Symmetry in Interior-Point Methods for Semidefinite Program

A class of group symmetric Semi-Definite Program (SDP) is introduced by using the framework of group representation theory. It is proved that the central path and several search directions of primal-dual interior-point methods are group symmetric. Preservation of group symmetry along the search direction theoretically guarantees that the numerically obtained optimal solution is group symmetric. As an illustrative example, we show that the optimization problem of a symmetric truss under frequency constraints can be formulated as a group symmetric SDP. Numerical experiments using an interior-point algorithm demonstrate convergence to strictly group symmetric solutions.