Optimization for Engineering Problems

Preface

The word “optimization” may be very familiar or may be quite new to you. However, whether or not you are aware of optimization, you are using it on many occasions in your day-to-day life and the concept has been around since from the evolution of mankind.

One of the simplest definitions of optimization is “doing the most with the least”. Lockhart and Johnson define optimization as “the process of finding the most effective or favorable value or condition”. The purpose of optimization is to achieve the “best” relative to a set of prioritized criteria or constraints. Today, two distinct types of optimization algorithms are widely used:

• – deterministic algorithms: they use specific rules for moving from one solution to another. These algorithms sometimes used in suites and have been successfully applied to many engineering design problems;
• – stochastic algorithms: they use probabilistic translation rules. These are gaining popularity due to certain properties that deterministic algorithms do not have.

Optimization is central to any problem involving decision-making, whether in engineering or in economics. The task of decision-making entails choosing between various alternatives. This choice is governed by our desire to make the “best” decision. The measure of “goodness” of the alternatives is described by an objective function or performance index. Optimization theory and methods deal with selecting the best alternative in the sense of the given objective function. Optimization ...