Integrated optimisation method for controlled dynamic mechanical systems

It is difficult to consider the interaction among mechanical parts, mechanical system and control system when carrying out design optimisation of mechatronic products which are usually controlled dynamic mechanical systems. A cosimulation based integrated optimisation method, which achieve topology optimisation of mechanical parts, mechanical system optimisation and controller parameter optimisation in one optimisation process, is presented. The proposed optimisation process considers the interaction among mechanical parts, the mechanical system and the control system within a controlled dynamic mechanical product. The principles of the optimisation process and a software framework are given. Different discipline software tools can run automatically in the presented framework. With the integrated optimisation process, the mechanical properties of the parts, the dynamics performance of the mechanical system and the overall dynamic properties of the mechatronic product can simultaneously achieve the optimum. The effectiveness is verified by a controlled crank-connecting rod mechanism with a flexible connecting rod.