An Augmented Sequential Optimization and Reliability Assessment for Reliability-Based Design Optimization

Abstract

Involving inevitable uncertainties in an engineering system design optimization is a necessity and requirements to achieve a reliable design which reliable design optimization approaches are expressed as Reliability-Based Design Optimization (RBDO) methods. Despite tremendous efforts have been made in the field of RBDO, computational efficiency improvement is still a significant challenge. Sequential Optimization and Reliability Assessment (SORA) has made great efforts to improve computational efficiency by decoupling RBDO problem into sequential deterministic optimization and reliability assessment as a single-loop method. In this paper, in order to further improve computational efficiency and extend the application of the current SORA method, an Augmented SORA (ASORA) is proposed by refraining from reliability assessment for satisfied probabilistic constraints in each cycle until all probabilistic constraints are be satisfied. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method compare to the SORA method is illustrated through some single and multi-disciplinary mathematical examples and a multi objective example.