Multidisciplinary design optimisation methods for automotive structures

Multidisciplinary design optimisation (MDO) can be used as an effective tool to improve the design of automotive structures. Large-scale MDO problems typically involve several groups who must work concurrently and autonomously in order to make the solution process efficient. In this article, the formulations of existing MDO methods are compared and their suitability is assessed in relation to the characteristics of automotive structural applications. Both multi-level and single-level optimisation methods are considered. Multi-level optimisation methods distribute the design process but are complex. When optimising automotive structures, metamodels are often required to relieve the computational burden of detailed simulation models. The metamodels can be created by individual groups prior to the optimisation process, and thus offer a way of distributing work. Therefore, it is concluded that a single-level method in combination with meta-models is the most straightforward way of implementing MDO into the development of automotive structures. If the benefits of multi-level optimisation methods, in a special case, are considered to compensate for their drawbacks, analytical target cascading has a number of advantages over collaborative optimisation, but both methods are possible choices