High-Fidelity Models in Global Optimization

This work presents a Simulation Based Design environment based on a Global Optimization (GO) algorithm for the solution of optimum design problems. The procedure, illustrated in the framework of a multiobjective ship design optimization problem, make use of high-fidelity, CPU time expensive computational models, including a free surface capturing RANSE solver. The use of GO prevents the optimizer to be trapped into local minima. The optimization is composed by global and local phases. In the global stage of the search, a few computationally expensive simulations are needed for creating surrogate models (metamodels) of the objective functions. Tentative design, created to explore the design variable space are evaluated with these inexpensive analytical approximations. The more promising designs are clustered, then locally minimized and eventually verified with high-fidelity simulations. New exact values are used to improve the metamodels and repeated cycles of the algorithm are performed. A Decision Maker strategy is finally adopted to select the more promising design.