EMCH 530– ENGINEERING OPTIMIZATION

Zafer Gürdal

Lecture 4: Elements of Problem Formulation

ELEMENTS OF PROBLEM FORMULATION
• Design Variables
• Objective Function
• Inequality Constraints
• Equality Constraints
DESIGN VARIABLES
Notation:

Physical Nature:

Mathematical Nature:
DESIGN VARIABLES, SELECTION CRITERIA
• May not be unique
• Dependence
• Number
OBJECTIVE FUNCTION
• Measure of goodness of the system that is being designed
• To be Maximized or Minimized
Physical nature: Cost, Profit, Weight, Comfort, Deformations, Stresses
Notation:
• Single valued, single variable
y y

x y

x x
• y = f(x) or f = f(x,y)
Additional Detailed Information beyond what was provided is available upon request

Thank You!