| dc.description.abstract | Mathematical optimisation provides tools for creating designs that provably performs well. When such tools are combined with a knowledge based engineering (KBE) application for mechanism design, the process of optimising the designs of mechanisms can be fully automated. A prototype system, that assembles existing optimisation tools, a KBE system, and a tool for analysing mechanisms, has been created as part of this research. This prototype is evaluated by performing case studies. The results demonstrate that optimisation can be conducted, and indicates that the prototype can be used in many design problems. From the results, a technique utilising surrogate models is suggested as the preferred optimisation technique. This technique is suggested as it can accommodate an interactive and iterative process for formulating optimisation problems. The results also exemplify the need for a bug-free KBE system, when such a system is used in optimisation. In the aggregate, the prototype demonstrates that mechanism design problems can be formulated as optimisation problems and that the resulting optimisation problems can be reliably solved. | |
