Abstract
A comparison of algorithms for multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) is performed with the aid of a new software framework. This framework, pyMDO, was developed in Python and is shown to be an excellent platform for comparing the performance of the various MDO methods. pyMDO eliminates the need for reformulation when solving a given problem using different MDO methods: once a problem has been described, it can automatically be cast into any method. In addition, the modular design of pyMDO allows rapid development and benchmarking of new methods. Results generated from this study provide a strong foundation for identifying the performance trends of various methods with several types of problems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexandrov NM, Kodiyalam S (1998) Initial results of an MDO evaluation survey. AIAA Paper 98-4884
Alexandrov NM, Lewis RM (1999) Comparative properties of collaborative optimization and other approaches to MDO. In: Proceedings of the first ASMO UK/ISSMO conference on engineering design optimization
Alexandrov NM, Lewis RM (2002) Analytical and computational aspects of collaborative optimization for multidisciplinary design. AIAA J 40(2):301–309
Braun RD, Kroo IM (1997) Development and application of the collaborative optimization architecture in a multidisciplinary design environment. In: Alexandrov N, Hussaini MY (eds) Multidisciplinary design optimization: state of the art. SIAM, Philadelphia, pp 98–116
Braun RD, Kroo IM, Gage PJ (1993) Post-optimality analysis in aerospace vehicle design. In: Proceedings of the AIAA aircraft design, systems and operations meeting, Monterey, CA, AIAA 93-3932
Braun RD, Gage PJ, Kroo IM, Sobieski IP (1996) Implementation and performance issues in collaborative optimization. AIAA Paper 96-4017
Brown NF, Olds JR (2006) Evaluation of multidisciplinary optimization techniques applied to a reusable launch vehicle. J Spacecr Rockets 43(6):1289–1300
Cramer EJ, Dennis JE, Frank PD, Lewis RM, Shubin GR (1994) Problem formulation for multidisciplinary optimization. SIAM J Optim 4(4):754–776
DeMiguel A-V, Murray W (2000) An analysis of collaborative optimization methods. In: Proceedings of the 8th AIAA/USAF/NASA/ISSMO symposium on multidisciplinary analysis and optimization, Long Beach, CA, AIAA 2000-4720
DeMiguel V, Murray W (2006) A local convergence analysis of bilevel decomposition algorithms. Optim Eng 7(2):99–133
Gill PE, Murray W, Saunders MA (2002) SNOPT: an SQP algorithm for large-scale constrained optimization. SIAM J Optim 12(4):979–1006
Kodiyalam S (1998) Evaluation of methods for multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO), Part 1. NASA Report CR-2000-210313
Langtangen HP (2004) Python scripting for computational science. Springer, Berlin
Martins JRRA, Sturdza P, Alonso JJ (2003) The complex-step derivative approximation. ACM Trans Math Softw 29(3):245–262
Martins JRRA, Alonso JJ, Reuther JJ (2005) A coupled-adjoint sensitivity analysis method for high-fidelity aero-structural design. Optim Eng 6(1):33–62
Martins JRRA, Marriage C, Tedford NP (2008) pyMDO: an object-oriented framework for multidisciplinary design optimization. ACM Trans Math Softw 36(4):1–23
Padula SL, Alexandrov N, Green LL (1996) MDO test suite at NASA Langley research center. In: Proceedings of the 6th AIAA/NASA/ISSMO symposium on multidisciplinary analysis and optimization, Bellevue, WA, AIAA 1996-4028
Perez RE, Liu HHT, Behdinan K (2004) Evaluation of multidisciplinary optimization approaches for aircraft conceptual design. In: Proceedings of the 10th AIAA/ISSMO multidisciplinary analysis and optimization conference, Albany, NY, AIAA 2004-4537
Sellar RS, Batill SM, Renaud JE (1996) Response surface based, concurrent subspace optimization for multidisciplinary system design. In: Proceedings of the 34th AIAA aerospace sciences meeting and exhibit, Reno, NV, AIAA 1996-0714
Sobieski IP, Kroo IM (2000) Collaborative optimization using response surface estimation. AIAA J 38(10):1931–1938
Sobieszczanski-Sobieski J (1988) Optimization by decomposition: a step from hierarchic to non-hierarchic systems. NASA Technical Report CP-3031
Sobieszczanski-Sobieski J, Altus TD, Phillips M, Sandusky R (2003) Bilevel integrated system synthesis for concurrent and distributed processing. AIAA J 41(10):1996–2003
Wujek B, Renaud J, Batill S (1997) A concurrent engineering approach for multidisciplinary design in a distributed computing environment. In: Alexandrov N, Hussaini MY (eds) Multidisciplinary design optimization: state of the art. SIAM, Philadelphia, pp 189–208
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tedford, N.P., Martins, J.R.R.A. Benchmarking multidisciplinary design optimization algorithms. Optim Eng 11, 159–183 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11081-009-9082-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11081-009-9082-6