Interactive physical programming: Tradeoff analysis and decision making in multicriteria optimization

This research focuses on multiobjective system design and optimization. The goal is to extend the physical programming (Messac, A., "Physical Programming: Effective Optimization for Design," AIAA Journal, Vol. 34, No. 1, 1996, pp. 149-158). Framework to develop an interactive physical programming (IPP) framework that takes into account the designer's or the decision maker's (DM's) preferences during the optimization process, and allows for design exploration at a given Pareto design. The IPP framework provides the DM with Pareto-sensitivity information, a Pareto surface approximation, a formal decision-making strategy, and a Pareto visualization tool for efficient design (or Pareto surface) exploration at a given Pareto design, The IPP has been successfully applied to two test problems. The first problem consists of a set of simple analytical expressions for its objective and constraints, The second problem is the design and sizing of a high-performance and low-cost 10-bar structure that has multiple objectives. Results indicate that the IPP framework is effective in capturing the local preferences of the DM. The Pareto designs that reflect the DM's preferences can be efficiently generated using the IPP framework. More importantly, the IPP provides the DM with a Pareto visualization tool that facilitates the study of existing tradeoffs between objectives in a physically meaningful way.