SYNTHESIS OF GRASHOF FOUR-BAR MECHANISMS USING PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION

A Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (PSO) and Grashof criteria for a four-bar mechanism are used to develop a general Grashof four-bar mechanism synthesis routine. The use of the stochastic PSO algorithm to minimize the non-linear objective function removes the requirement for sequential parameter transforms and design constraints previously employed in tandem with traditional deterministic quasi-Newtonian optimization routines to achieve convergence on meaningful global minima which often artificially constrict the feasible solution set space under exploration. The performance of this implementation compares favourably with other mechanism synthesis algorithms, particularly as the number of specified precision points is increased.© 2008 ASME

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