High speed computer-aided optimization in engineering

The rapid growth of electronic computers over the past two decades has made available to engineers a powerful tool for control system design. Accompanying this growth has developed the art of algorithm design so that best use is made of the computing equipment available. The state of this art in the field of computer-aided optimization in en­ gineering is now sufficiently advanced for the solution of a limited range of practical problems. However, in spite of the improvements in computer technology and the art of using computers there remains a barrier to the widespread application of optimization. This barrier, known as the 'dimensionality barrier' in optimization, arises essentially from the excessive computation time involved in the solution of multivariable problems. The principal objective of this thesis is to reduce this 'computation time barrier' for the solution of both static and dynamic optimization problems. This objective is achieved by:- (i) devising new (and improving existing) algorithms, (ii) developing suitable computer implantations of these algorithms. This introductory Chapter outlines the general aims of the project together with a summary of the research work performed and its organization within the thesis. This project forms one of several in a group project investigating the development and application of computer-aided optimization techniques in engineering