Department of Mechanical Engineering

ME Seminar - Optimization Paradigm in Design of 3-D Frames

 

Seminar Announcement

1:10 – 2:00 AM, 3004/3006 Black Engineering Building

September 12, 2007

Optimization Paradigm in Design of 3-D Frames

Sayed Metwalli
Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Design
and Production Department,
Faculty of Engineering,
Cairo University
Cairo, Egypt

Abstract
This work presents a developed novel optimization process that can be used for the true synthesis of mechanical components and systems. A sample application to the design optimization of space frames is presented. The main objective is to minimize the space frame volume and satisfy stress constraints. A finite element program is devised to synthesize 3D-space frames and assist in achieving its variable topology design and optimization. A Midi-Bus frame is modeled with about 300 members and analyzed for a model of severe road loading condition. The optimization effectively uses a devised Heuristic Gradient Projection (HGP) technique to synthesize the optimum design of the Midi-Bus frame. Results indicate a striking improvement over available designs and remarkably faster convergence over other design and optimization techniques. The technique can moreover be effectively applied to other large 3D-space frame synthesis and optimization. The developed synthesis methodology is also applied to other designs as a tailored optimization paradigm for a better theory of design realization.

Professor Metwalli’s area of expertise is design and optimization. He is an ASME fellow, was on the faculty of university of Central Florida and served as the department chair of the ME department at Cairo University.

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