Introduction to Optimum Design

The primary purpose of the text is to describe an organized approach to engineering design and its optimization in a rigorous and yet simplified manner. Major emphasis is on the correct formulation of the problem and basic concepts of optimum design. Only a few robust numerical procedures that bring out basic concepts and ideas are presented. It is not the purpose of this text to describe derivations of all the methods and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. References are cited for this purpose. A few modern methods that work well are described and illustrated. The necessary results from optimization theory are stated and their implications are studied through application to engineering design problems. Theory and concepts of optimum design are explained only through examples and simple engineering applications. Proofs of most theorems are omitted. Throughout the text, simple design problems involving two to three design variables and three to four constraints are solved in detail to illustrate fundamental concepts and basic ideas. Several of the numerical procedures and concepts described in the text are useful in many other engineering courses and applications. - Provides a self-contained exposition to the subject of design optimization. - Gives examples and exercises from several fields in order to make the subject appealing to all engineering disciplines. - Allows pengineers involved in the design process to adapt optimum design concepts in their work using the material of the text.