A study in applying case-based reasoning to engineering design: Mechanical bearing design

Author(s):  
XIAOLI QIN ◽  
WILLIAM C. REGLI

Case-based reasoning (CBR) is a promising methodology for solving many complex engineering design problems. CBR employs past problem-solving experiences when solving new problems. This paper presents a case study of how to apply CBR to a specific engineering problem: mechanical bearing design. A system is developed that retrieves previous design cases from a case repository and uses adaptation techniques to modify them to satisfy the current problem requirements. The approach combines both parametric and constraint satisfaction adaptations. Parametric adaptation considers not only parameter substitution but also the interrelationships between the problem definition and its solution. Constraint satisfaction provides a method to globally check the design requirements to assess case adaptability. Currently, our system has been implemented and tested in the domain of rolling bearings. This work serves as a template for application of CBR techniques to realistic engineering problems.

Author(s):  
Xiaoli Qin ◽  
William C. Regli

Abstract Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) provides a promising methodology for solving many complex engineering design problems. CBR is based on the idea that past problem-solving experiences can be reused and learned from in solving new problems. This paper presents an overview of a CBR design system to assist human engineers in performing mechanical bearing design. It retrieves previously designed cases from a case-base and uses adaptation techniques to adapt them to satisfy the current problem requirements. Our approach combines parametric adaptations and constraint satisfaction adaptations. The technique of parametric adaptation considers not only parameter substitution, but also the interrelationships between the problem definition and its solution. The technique of constraint satisfaction adaptation provides a method to globally check the design requirements to assess case adaptability. Currently, our system has been tested in the rolling bearing domain.


Author(s):  
Theodore Bardsz ◽  
Ibrahim Zeid

Abstract One of the most significant issues in applying case-based reasoning (CBR) to mechanical design is to integrate previously unrelated design plans towards the solution of a new design problem. The total design solution (the design plan structure) can be composed of both retrieved and dynamically generated design plans. The retrieved design plans must be mapped to fit the new design context, and the entire design plan structure must be evaluated. An architecture utilizing opportunistic problem solving in a blackboard environment is used to map and evaluate the design plan structure effectively and successfuly. The architecture has several assets when integrated into a CBR environment. First, the maximum amount of information related to the design is generated before any of the mapping problems are addressed. Second, mapping is preformed as just another action toward the evaluation of the design plan. Lastly, the architecture supports the inclusion of memory elements from the knowledge base in the design plan structure. The architecture is implemented using the GBB system. The architecture is part of a newly developed CBR System called DEJAVU. The paper describes DEJAVU and the architecture. An example is also included to illustrate the use of DEJAVU to solve engineering design problems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Ziang Liu ◽  
Tatsushi Nishi

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is an efficient optimization algorithm and has been applied to solve various real-world problems. However, the performance of PSO on a specific problem highly depends on the velocity updating strategy. For a real-world engineering problem, the function landscapes are usually very complex and problem-specific knowledge is sometimes unavailable. To respond to this challenge, we propose a multipopulation ensemble particle swarm optimizer (MPEPSO). The proposed algorithm consists of three existing efficient and simple PSO searching strategies. The particles are divided into four subpopulations including three indicator subpopulations and one reward subpopulation. Particles in the three indicator subpopulations update their velocities by different strategies. During every learning period, the improved function values of the three strategies are recorded. At the end of a learning period, the reward subpopulation is allocated to the best-performed strategy. Therefore, the appropriate PSO searching strategy can have more computational expense. The performance of MPEPSO is evaluated by the CEC 2014 test suite and compared with six other efficient PSO variants. These results suggest that MPEPSO ranks the first among these algorithms. Moreover, MPEPSO is applied to solve four engineering design problems. The results show the advantages of MPEPSO. The MATLAB source codes of MPEPSO are available at https://github.com/zi-ang-liu/MPEPSO.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad Odeh ◽  
Shauna McKenna ◽  
Hosni Abu-Mulaweh

This paper describes an innovative engineering design of a first-year engineering course. The course is offered in the second semester of the academic year to students of different engineering disciplines such as mechanical, mechatronic, electrical, electronics, civil, environmental and manufacturing. The course incorporates a mix of techniques to help students better engage with the subject matter and with one another. A major part of the new course is the practical assessment component requiring students to apply physical, mathematical, mechanical and electrical concepts to real life engineering design problems. Three different engineering design modules were developed. Each module consists of an authentic engineering design problem which has been specially constructed in order to provide students with the opportunity to apply the basic engineering, maths and physics concepts they acquired during the first semester. Depending on the students intended engineering major, they choose one of the three engineering design modules. In order to best prepare students for the design project, they firstly do two small group assignment tasks on a particular engineering problem. This serves as the preparatory work for the engineering design module. The assignments are done in class time so as to promote full collaboration between students and instructors and to encourage the exchange of knowledge and ideas. The course aims to better equip students with workforce skills in problem solving and effective oral and written communication.


1988 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
E G McCluskey ◽  
S Thompson ◽  
D M G McSherry

Many engineering design problems require reference to standards or codes of practice to ensure that acceptable safety and performance criteria are met. Extracting relevant data from such documents can, however, be a problem for the unfamiliar user. The use of expert systems to guide the retrieval of information from standards and codes of practice is proposed as a means of alleviating this problem. Following a brief introduction to expert system techniques, a tool developed by the authors for building expert system guides to standards and codes of practice is described. The steps involved in encoding the knowledge contained in an arbitrarily chosen standard are illustrated. Finally, a typical consultation illustrates the use of the expert system guide to the standard.


Author(s):  
Swaroop S. Vattam ◽  
Michael Helms ◽  
Ashok K. Goel

Biologically inspired engineering design is an approach to design that espouses the adaptation of functions and mechanisms in biological sciences to solve engineering design problems. We have conducted an in situ study of designers engaged in biologically inspired design. Based on this study we develop here a macrocognitive information-processing model of biologically inspired design. We also compare and contrast the model with other information-processing models of analogical design such as TRIZ, case-based design, and design patterns.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiming Li ◽  
Yongquan Zhou ◽  
Sen Zhang ◽  
Junmin Song

The moth-flame optimization (MFO) algorithm is a novel nature-inspired heuristic paradigm. The main inspiration of this algorithm is the navigation method of moths in nature called transverse orientation. Moths fly in night by maintaining a fixed angle with respect to the moon, a very effective mechanism for travelling in a straight line for long distances. However, these fancy insects are trapped in a spiral path around artificial lights. Aiming at the phenomenon that MFO algorithm has slow convergence and low precision, an improved version of MFO algorithm based on Lévy-flight strategy, which is named as LMFO, is proposed. Lévy-flight can increase the diversity of the population against premature convergence and make the algorithm jump out of local optimum more effectively. This approach is helpful to obtain a better trade-off between exploration and exploitation ability of MFO, thus, which can make LMFO faster and more robust than MFO. And a comparison with ABC, BA, GGSA, DA, PSOGSA, and MFO on 19 unconstrained benchmark functions and 2 constrained engineering design problems is tested. These results demonstrate the superior performance of LMFO.


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