Optimization Techniques in Engineering

Preface

Optimization is a precise method that allows the planner to identify the best solution to a problem by using design restrictions and criteria. Optimization techniques have been used to solve a variety of practical problems in a variety of fields. These optimization methods have existed since the time of Newton, Lagrange and Cauchy. The contributions of Leibnitz and Newton to calculus are responsible for the growth of differential calculus approaches for optimization. Optimization techniques are useful tools for obtaining the required design parameters and operational conditions. They direct the experimental effort and lower the design and operations risk and cost. Finding the values of decision variables that correspond to and give the maximum or minimum of one or more specified objectives is referred to as optimization. An optimization algorithm is a process that compares numerous solutions iteratively until an optimum or satisfying solution is identified. Thus, optimization has become a feature of computer-aided design activities since the invention of computers. The formulation of goal functions and the optimization technique chosen determine the reliability of optimal solutions. A mathematical model that characterizes and predicts the process behavior is required for optimization. An optimization search could aid in the estimation of unknown parameters in complex nonlinear processes. In dynamic processes, robust optimization can be used to find uncertainty variables. ...