ITAIC 2020 (ISSN 2693-2865)
Adaptive GASA algorithm for multidisciplinary
design optimization
2020 IEEE 9th Joint International Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Conference (ITAIC) | 978-1-7281-5244-8/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ITAIC49862.2020.9339141
Chao Fu1a, Yang Ou2b, Jihong Liu1c* , HongYan Yu3d, WenTing Xu2d
1. School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, China
2. AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, Shenyang, China
3. Beijing Institute of mechanical and electrical engineering, Beijing, China
a b
superfurun@163.com, zaiwei123456@163.com, c*ryukeiko@buaa.edu.cn, cadsupport@163.com
*Corresponding author˖Jihong Liu
Abstract—In the application of multidisciplinary design
optimization, intelligent optimization algorithm can better
avoid the problems of "falling into local optimum" or
"unexpected termination" caused by conventional
numerical optimization methods. In this paper, an adaptive
GASA algorithm is proposed, which combines the global
parallel search ability of genetic algorithm with the
probability jump characteristic of simulated annealing
algorithm, and uses adaptive mechanism to improve the
population operation of intelligent optimization algorithm.
Finally, the proposed method is verified by using a
calculation example in combination with the collaborative
optimization strategy. The results show that the proposed
method can effectively improve the optimization efficiency
and the quality of the optimization results.
Keywords—Multidisciplinary design optimization;
adaptive mechanism; genetic algorithm; simulated annealing
algorithm
I. INTRODUCTION
With the expansion of the scope of engineering
problems, the scale and complexity of MDO problems are
increasing [1]. Intelligent optimization algorithm has been
deeply studied and widely used in the field of MDO, but
its own defects and deficiencies are gradually exposed,
and the optimization results of the algorithm are often not
ideal. Take the genetic algorithm (GA) and simulated
annealing algorithm (SA) widely used in the field of
MDO as an example: the global search performance of
genetic algorithm is better, which is suitable for the
variable space of multi-dimensional CO method, but it is
prone to premature convergence. To improve its
performance, it needs to change gene operation or adopt
advanced evolution strategy [2]; The simulated annealing
algorithm has strong local search ability when the initial
temperature is higher, the number of sampling steps is
longer and the termination temperature is lower. However,
the overall analysis of the variable space of CO method is
insufficient, so it is difficult to enter the most reliable
variable space search, and the optimization efficiency is
low [3]. The parameter setting of the algorithm will affect
the optimization performance of both methods.
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d
Email: ryukeiko@buaa.edu.cn
In this paper, an efficient GASA hybrid optimization
algorithm is proposed by combining the parallel search
structure of GA and the probabilistic jump characteristics
of SA. The GASA hybrid algorithm first uses the parallel
search of genetic algorithm, optimizes the population
genetic operation based on the idea of "survival of the
fittest" in the sense of probability, and then uses the serial
structure of simulated annealing algorithm to search
through probability jump, and finally tends to the global
optimal solution. The crossover of genetic algorithm is
conducive to inheriting the excellent information of the
parent, mutation can strengthen the diversity of
individuals in the population, the simulated annealing
algorithm decreases from high temperature to low
temperature, so that the population evolves from a large-
scale global jump to a small-scale local movement; GASA
integrates the optimization mechanism of the two
algorithms, complements the optimization behavior and
structure, reduces the adverse impact of parameter setting
on the optimization results, and enhances the search
ability of global and local variable space by enriching the
search behavior in the population evolution process [4].
II. GASA HYBRID ALGORITHM
As shown in Figure 1, the GASA hybrid algorithm
first uses the parallel search of genetic algorithm,
optimizes the population genetic operation based on the
idea of "survival of the fittest" in the sense of probability,
and then uses the serial structure of simulated annealing
algorithm to search through the probability jump, and
finally tends to the global optimal solution.
GASA hybrid algorithm has the above advantages, but
also inevitably introduces the shortcomings of the two
algorithms: crossover, mutation and other operations of
genetic algorithm may lose the optimal individual, and
simulated annealing algorithm has poor time performance
to achieve global convergence. The genetic algorithm and
simulated annealing algorithm in GASA will affect the
quality of the co optimization solution. Therefore, it is
necessary to optimize and improve GASA algorithm
combined with the characteristics of multidisciplinary
design optimization.
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 Population evolution space Variable space level GASA algorithm can adaptively adjust the crossover
Determine initial temperature Optimization and mutation operations during population evolution.
and initial solution objective function

° Pcini   Pc max  Pc min  ˜ I c , fbig ! f avg

­
(2)
Evaluate each individual in the current Evaluate the best Pc ®
population fitness °̄ Pcini , fbig d f avg

Satisfy convergence YES ° Pmini   Pm max  Pm min  ˜ I m , f w ! f avg

­
(3)
criteria? Pm ®
NO °̄ Pmini , f w d f avg

Crossover and mutation by GA
Obtain initial population of SA,
SA search for individuals i = 1,Ă,pop
Generate new individuals from SA state
generating function
Accept new individuals
with probability
YES NO
Cooling
Satisfies the metropolis
criterion
Optimization
results optimization solution
Fig. 1 System level GASA hybrid algorithm flow chart of CO strategy
III. ADAPTIVE MECHANISM IN GASA ALGORITHM
In this paper, combined with the optimization process
of multidisciplinary design, the genetic algorithm and
simulated annealing algorithm are deeply analyzed.
Combined with the research results of genetic algorithm
and simulated annealing algorithm, the adaptive
mechanism is used to improve GASA algorithm. In
GASA algorithm, after the population is initialized, the
structure of genetic algorithm is used to optimize. In this
process, we also need to consider the effects of crossover
and mutation on population evolution. The essential
problem is that the crossover probability PC and mutation
probability PM can be adjusted automatically with the
optimization. Firstly, information quantity I is constructed
according to formula (1) to extract the change information
of population evolution process.
ln  fbig  f avg  ln  f w  f avg 
Among them, I c , Im .
f max  f avg f max  f avg
Where favg is the average fitness value of the current
population, fmax is the maximum fitness value in the
current population, Pcini is the initial crossover probability,
Pmini is the initial mutation probability, Pcmax and Pcmin are
the upper and lower limits of the crossover probability,
Pmmax and Pmmin are the upper and lower limits of the
mutation probability, fbig is the larger fitness of the two
individuals to be crossed, fw is the fitness of the individual
to be mutated.
System level
Crossover and mutation operations of genetic
algorithm are easy to generate new individuals and
increase population diversity. However, for the large-scale
variable space to be searched by MDO method at system
level, GASA algorithm should also have the ability to
quickly jump from the parent population evolution space
to the offspring population evolution space, so as to avoid
the phenomenon that the GASA algorithm lingers on
some old states for a long time, which leads to the
premature convergence of MDO method.
Therefore, in GASA algorithm, as an effective
supplement to the population operation of genetic
algorithm, simulated annealing algorithm does the follow-
up evolution operation on the population, and endows the
population with controllable probability jump
characteristics at each temperature. At high temperature,
the migration step size of GASA algorithm is large, which
can effectively avoid CO method falling into local
minimum, and alleviate the situation that the algorithm
relies too much on the parameter setting due to genetic
ln  f 0  f avg  operation; When the temperature is low, the Markov chain
I (1)
f max  f avg
The increase of I means that the individual fitness is
close to the maximum fitness of the population. At this
time, the crossover probability and mutation probability of
the individual should be reduced to make the genetic
algorithm jump out of the local minimum. In I, fmax and
favg are the maximum and average fitness of the population
respectively, and f0 is the fitness of the individual to be
evolved. Combining with the optimization process of CO
method at the system level, the cross information quantity
Ic and the mutation information quantity Im are constructed
by formula (2) and (3), respectively, so that the system
corresponding to simulated annealing makes GASA
converge to the global optimum with a probability close to
1. Metropolis sampling process will realize detailed local
search on the variable space of CO method, enhance the
search ability of GASA algorithm and improve the
optimization efficiency of MDO method.
From the above analysis, it can be seen that the
operation design of simulated annealing algorithm has an
important impact on the quality of the final optimization
individual. The state generating function for generating
new individuals in simulated annealing algorithm is
shown in equation (4).
xk 1 xk  K[ (4)

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 Where η is the disturbance amplitude parameter, ξ is control the optimization. Therefore, the definition of
the random disturbance variable, and xk and xk+1 are the equation (7) can be adopted, and c is the estimated value
current solution and the new solution respectively. of f.
Random disturbance variables can obey different
1
distribution functions, such as Cauchy distribution, fc f c d 0
Gaussian distribution, uniform distribution, etc. When ξ 1 f  c (7)
obeys Cauchy distribution, the scale parameter α ­ 1
fc ® c t 0, f  c t 0
determines the distribution of probability density function. ¯1  f  c
In order to improve the optimization performance of
simulated annealing algorithm, the adaptive concept is On the basis of adaptive state generating function,
introduced, and the scale parameter α is constructed with GASA affects the search behavior of MDO by controlling
the maximum inconsistent information, as shown in the the population evolution operation of genetic algorithm
following formula (5). and simulated annealing algorithm. The multi-point
parallel probability search weakens the dependence of
1 a MDO method on initial value, realizes global optimization,
f [  u ,  f  [  f,
S a [2
2
(5) enriches the domain search structure in the optimization
process, enhances the ability of GASA to search variable
a max J i  z j  xij  i 1, 2,
Equation (5) indicates that the adaptive scale
parameter α is constructed by the largest term among the
inconsistent information of the system. The geometric
meaning of α is shown in Figure 2. The system level
optimization coordinates the optimization points of three
subsystems, and continuously approaches the best Z1, In
the search space of Z1, X2 is the farthest from Z1, and the
inconsistent information between the two points is the
largest. Taking Z1 as the center of the circle and the
distance between two points as the radius, a circle is
constructed, which includes all subsystem optimization
points. The radius of the circle represents the scale
parameter α. The Cauchy distribution based on adaptive
scale parameter α produces large step length disturbance,
which is beneficial to improve the global optimization
performance of CO method.
Zy
X2
X3
Z1
X1
O Zx
Fig. 2 Structure chart of adaptive scale parameters
The objective function optimized by MDO method
generally belongs to the category of seeking extremum. If
the objective function is to find the maximum or
minimum problem, it is commonly defined by formula (6)
fc f fc f
The above definition is simple and easy to implement,
but because the population of GASA algorithm has to
undergo the evolutionary operation of genetic algorithm
and simulated annealing algorithm, when the optimization
results are scattered in the variable space, the average
fitness of the population may not be conducive to reflect
the distribution of the population, and it is difficult to
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n space, and improves the ability of GASA to search
variable space and the convergence speed of MDO
method.
IV. EXAMPLE VERIFICATION
The oil-gas buffer is a common component in most
modern aircraft landing gears. It deforms and does work
during landing and absorbs the impact energy of the
airframe. The design requirements of the buffer are as
follows: (1) it can absorb the landing work determined by
the strength specification; (2) it does not produce an
impact load exceeding the allowable strength value; (3)
the compression stroke of the buffer is within the
allowable range during landing. The reasonable
optimization of the parameters of the oil-gas buffer plays
an important role in the buffer performance and impact
load. The optimization of oil-gas buffer parameters is a
typical multidisciplinary design optimization problem,
which involves many disciplines such as materials science,
heat, fluid mechanics and so on. Reference [5] is available
for the complete information of the example
In the process of buffer design optimization, the
influence of multiple disciplines should be considered
comprehensively. During landing, the strength of the
shock absorber strut should withstand the impact of F, and
the oil should be compressed to absorb the impact energy
under the condition of adiabatic compression. The
optimization problem is divided into three subsystems,
including structure, heat and fluid mechanics. The
optimization structure of buffer design problem
constructed by collaborative optimization strategy is
shown in Figure 3. Z is the system level design variable,
Xi is the design variable of subsystem i, and Ji is the
(6) constraint of subsystem O.
GA algorithm, SA algorithm and adaptive GASA
algorithm are used as system level optimization
algorithms to solve the example. In the original design,
the damping efficiency was 59%. After optimization of
GA algorithm, SA algorithm and adaptive GASA
algorithm, the efficiency is improved to 70.5%, 69.1%
and 77.4% respectively. Figure figure 4 to 7 are the
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 impact load diagram and work diagram of landing gear force of the buffer strut changes with time and
buffer strut optimized by four algorithms. In the impact displacement respectively. The following conclusions can
load diagram and the work quantity diagram, the impact be drawn by comparing and analyzing each diagram.
System level optimization
³ F  Foil  Fm  ˜ v ya dt
t

0 air
min 1
F max u S max
X ª
¬ Aair , P, V , Ah , Aoil , d oil , d h , v ya º
¼
s.t J1 d H , J 2 d H , J 3 d H
J1ˈX1 J3ˈX3
Z1 Z3
J2ˈX2 Z2
Structural analysis and optimization Fluid mechanics analysis Thermal analysis optimization
 Aair  Aair 0    P  P0  
2 2
min J1 optimization  P  P0   V  V0 
2 2
min J 3
 Aair  Aair 0    Ah  Ah 0 
2 2
V  V0    Ah  Ah 0   ( Aoil  Aoil 0 )2
2 2
min J 2
  Aair  Aair 0 
2

s.t F  Aair  Aoil  d >V @   P  P0   V  V0 

2 2
s.t P ˜ V J const
s.t 7  d oil d h d 0

Fig. 3 Optimization structure of oil-air buffer for shock absorption efficiency

As shown in Figure 4, after the landing gear buffer
strut is optimized by the adaptive intelligent CO method
based on GA algorithm, the fluctuation degree of impact
force curve is large in the impact load diagram, which
indicates that in the later stage of compression, the
amplitude of reverse impact is large, which is easy to
cause body turbulence and bring adverse impact on the
riding comfort of the crew; in the work diagram, the work
process of impact force with displacement is also slightly
steep, and the landing process is not as smooth as the
optimized design scheme based on other algorithms.

Fig. 4 Impact load and work diagram of buffer strut optimized by GA based adaptive intelligent CO method

Fig. 5 Impact load and work diagram of buffer strut optimized by SA based adaptive intelligent CO method

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 Fig. 6 Impact load and work diagram of buffer strut optimized by GASA based adaptive intelligent CO method
As shown in Figure 6, the buffer performance has
been significantly improved after using GASA hybrid
algorithm. In the impact load diagram, the rebound
amplitude of impact force is the smallest at the end of the
period; in the power diagram, the curve of impact force
work is also more round and full, which shows that the
optimized landing gear buffer strut can ensure the whole
landing process is relatively stable during compression,
and in the later stage of landing, the buffer strut can
absorb the impact energy and avoid violent rebound.
Based on the GASA hybrid algorithm, in the variable
space, the CO method tends to be the global optimal
through the global parallel search of GA, so it can
efficiently converge to the optimal point.
By comparing the time axes of the three power charts,
it can be seen that the work time of the buffer strut
optimized by GASA hybrid algorithm is the shortest; the
work time of the buffer strut optimized by GA or SA
based adaptive intelligent co method is in the middle. The
optimized buffer can control the slow growth of load in
the initial stage of landing, avoid the sharp increase of
load in a very short period of time, and reduce the impact
on the body and passengers; with the compression of the
buffer strut, in the later stage of landing, the descending
speed decreases, and the load increases slowly, forming
the maximum load at the back end of the journey, so that
the impact energy can be effectively absorbed and the
buffer can avoid working It appears to be too rigid and
improves the damping efficiency. The optimized buffer
can absorb additional work and has strong adaptability.
V. CONCLUSION
In this paper, the computational and convergence
difficulties in multidisciplinary design optimization
methods are discussed. An adaptive GASA algorithm is
proposed to replace the traditional numerical optimization
algorithm to solve the problem of computational difficulty.
Combining the advantages of genetic algorithm and
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simulated annealing algorithm, an improved hybrid
genetic simulated annealing algorithm (GASA) is
proposed. The optimization results of an example verify
the effectiveness and efficiency of the multidisciplinary
optimization method based on intelligent optimization
algorithm. It is worth noting that although intelligent
optimization algorithm has high optimization performance
at the system level or discipline level, it can play a greater
role when combined with efficient optimization strategies.
Therefore, the research of multidisciplinary optimization
strategy for adaptive intelligent optimization algorithm is
the next research focus of our research team.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the fund support
from the National Key Research and Development
Program of China (2018YFB1700800) and funds of
(41401030301).
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