Adaptive response surface method – a global optimization scheme for approximation-based design problems

For design problems involving computation-intensive analysis or simulation processes, approximation models are usually introduced to reduce computation time. Most approximation-based optimization methods make step-by-step improvements to the approximation model by adjusting the limits of the design variables. In this work, a new approximation-based optimization method for computation-intensive design problems – the adaptive response surface method (ARSM), is presented. The ARSM creates quadratic approximation models for the computation-intensive design objective function in a gradually reduced design space. The ARSM was designed to avoid being trapped by local optima and to identify the global design optimum with a modest number of objective function evaluations. Extensive tests on the ARSM as a global optimization scheme using benchmark problems, as well as an industrial design application of the method, are presented. Advantages and limitations of the approach are also discussed.