ImprovingtheDesignLecture ImprovingtheDesign.

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Improving the Design

There are several methods that can be used to improve the design.

Standard Design Studies

Sensitivity Studies

Feasibility Studies Optimization Studies

Standard Design Studies A standard design study enables you to vary design variables (dimensions and parameters) in your model and to calculate the results of an existing analysis after they have been changed. You can specify different design variable settings for the analysis. You can create a Standard design study from the Analyses and Design Studies dialog box. Sensitivity Studies Sensitivity studies enable you explore how changes in design variables affect measures in analyses. There are two different types of sensitivity studies:

Local: Returns the derivatives of measures from an existing analysis at the current or an assigned design point. It does so by calculating all of the measures at the starting point and then changes the value(s) of the selected design variable(s) a very small amount. The derivative is then calculated as the difference between the measure values divided by the change in the design values. Global: Returns the values of measures from an existing analysis throughout a range of values that the user specifies.

Feasibility Studies Feasibility studies enable you to determine whether the design requirements for a particular design can be fulfilled. The following are applied to feasibility studies:

Design limits (constraints): Examples of design limits might include maximum acceptable von Mises stresses or maximum allowable displacements. Design variable(s) and their permissible ranges.

The Mechanica engine then attempts to find a design condition that satisfies all of the design limits by changing the design variables within their allowed ranges. If the engine finds a single design condition that satisfies all of the design limits, it considers the solution feasible and stops running. Optimization Studies Optimization studies are closely related to feasibility studies. In addition to the design limits and variables in a feasibility study, the optimization study has a goal function. During the initial execution of an optimization study, the optimization engine behaves exactly as it does during an feasibility design study; that is, it searches for a design that satisfies all of the design limits. Once such a feasible design is found, the optimization engine then attempts to minimize or maximize the goal function to finish with an optimal model.