A Combined Finite Element-Multiple Criteria Optimization Approach for Materials Selection of Gas Turbine Components

The design of critical components for aerospace applications involves a number of conflicting functional requirements: reducing fuel consumption, cost, and weight, while enhancing performance, operability and robustness. As several materials systems and concepts remain competitive, a new approach that couples finite element analysis (FEA) and established multicriteria optimization protocols is developed in this paper. To demonstrate the approach, a prototypical materials selection problem for gas turbine combustor liners is chosen. A set of high temperature materials systems consisting of superalloys and thermal barrier coatings is considered as candidates. A thermo-mechanical FEA model of the combustor liner is used to numerically predict the response of each material system candidate. The performance of each case is then characterized by considering the material cost, manufacturability, oxidation resistance, damping behavior, thermomechanical properties, and the FEA postprocessed parameters relating to fatigue and creep. Using the obtained performance values as design criteria, an ELECTRE multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) model is employed to rank and classify the alternatives. The optimization model is enhanced by incorporating the relative importance (weighting factors) of the selection criteria, which is determined by multiple designers via a group decision-making process.Engineering and Applied Science

ELECTRE I : decision support model for material selection of bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte fuel cells applications

Abstract: In this paper, a new non-compensatory approach is introduced for the material selection of bipolar plates in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFC), using the original ELECTRE I (Elimination Et (and) Choice Translating Reality) decision-making method. This approach provides solutions to material selection problems of bipolar plates involving multiple conicting objectives, particularly when the compensation among the criteria is not allowed. By producing a material selection decision matrix and a criteria sensitivity analysis, the ELECTRE I can be applied to perform a reasonable material selection for a particular application, including a logical ranking of considered materials. A list of all possible choices from the best to the worst suitable materials is obtained, taking into account all the material selection criteria, including the cost. There is good agreement between the results of the methods being used and available experimental data and the Cambridge Engineering Selector (CES) databases. A user-de\u85ned code in Mathematica has been developed to facilitate the implementation of the method for material selection problems of fuel cell components