Title: Discrete parameter-nonlinear constrained optimisation of a gear train using genetic algorithms

Authors: M. Dolen, H. Kaplan, A. Seireg

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Inonu Bulvari, Ankara 06531, Turkey. ' Atilim University, Departments of Manufacturing and Mechatronics Engineering, 06836 Incek Golbasі-Ankara, Turkey. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1513 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706-1572 and University of Florida-Gainesville, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA

Abstract: This paper investigates the optimal design of a four-stage gear train using genetic algorithms. Five different genetic encoding schemes, which incorporate various heuristic search techniques, are proposed to deal with the most critical constraints of the problem. The fitness criterion used by all genetic algorithms includes a merit function for minimising the size of the gearbox. The results show improvement in the design merit over previous approaches without reliance on the designer|s interaction to avoid geometric constraint violations and facilitate the convergence.

Keywords: genetic algorithms; discrete design optimisation; penalty function; integer programming; multi stage gear design; nonlinear programming; gear train optimisation; optimal design; gearbox size; geometric constraints.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.2005.007213

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 2005 Vol.24 No.2, pp.110 - 121

Published online: 23 Jun 2005 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article