Application of a new multi-agent Hybrid Co-evolution based Particle Swarm Optimisation methodology in ship design

In this paper, a multiple objective 'Hybrid Co-evolution based Particle Swarm Optimisation' methodology (HCPSO) is proposed. This methodology is able to handle multiple objective optimisation problems in the area of ship design, where the simultaneous optimisation of several conflicting objectives is considered. The proposed method is a hybrid technique that merges the features of co-evolution and Nash equilibrium with a ε-disturbance technique to eliminate the stagnation. The method also offers a way to identify an efficient set of Pareto (conflicting) designs and to select a preferred solution amongst these designs. The combination of co-evolution approach and Nash-optima contributes to HCPSO by utilising faster search and evolution characteristics. The design search is performed within a multi-agent design framework to facilitate distributed synchronous cooperation. The most widely used test functions from the formal literature of multiple objectives optimisation are utilised to test the HCPSO. In addition, a real case study, the internal subdivision problem of a ROPAX vessel, is provided to exemplify the applicability of the developed method

Learning-based ship design optimization approach

With the development of computer applications in ship design, optimization, as a powerful approach, has been widely used in the design and analysis process. However, the running time, which often varies from several weeks to months in the current computing environment, has been a bottleneck problem for optimization applications, particularly in the structural design of ships. To speed up the optimization process and adjust the complex design environment, ship designers usually rely on their personal experience to assist the design work. However, traditional experience, which largely depends on the designer’s personal skills, often makes the design quality very sensitive to the experience and decreases the robustness of the final design. This paper proposes a new machine-learning-based ship design optimization approach, which uses machine learning as an effective tool to give direction to optimization and improves the adaptability of optimization to the dynamic design environment. The natural human learning process is introduced into the optimization procedure to improve the efficiency of the algorithm. Q-learning, as an approach of reinforcement learning, is utilized to realize the learning function in the optimization process. The multi-objective particle swarm optimization method, multiagent system, and CAE software are used to build an integrated optimization system. A bulk carrier structural design optimization was performed as a case study to evaluate the suitability of this method for real-world application

Statistical higher-order multi-scale method for nonlinear thermo-mechanical simulation of random composite materials with temperature-dependent properties

Stochastic multi-scale modeling and simulation for nonlinear thermo-mechanical problems of composite materials with complicated random microstructures remains a challenging issue. In this paper, we develop a novel statistical higher-order multi-scale (SHOMS) method for nonlinear thermo-mechanical simulation of random composite materials, which is designed to overcome limitations of prohibitive computation involving the macro-scale and micro-scale. By virtue of statistical multi-scale asymptotic analysis and Taylor series method, the SHOMS computational model is rigorously derived for accurately analyzing nonlinear thermo-mechanical responses of random composite materials both in the macro-scale and micro-scale. Moreover, the local error analysis of SHOMS solutions in the point-wise sense clearly illustrates the crucial indispensability of establishing the higher-order asymptotic corrected terms in SHOMS computational model for keeping the conservation of local energy and momentum. Then, the corresponding space-time multi-scale numerical algorithm with off-line and on-line stages is designed to efficiently simulate nonlinear thermo-mechanical behaviors of random composite materials. Finally, extensive numerical experiments are presented to gauge the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed SHOMS approach