Young's Modulus and Poisson's Ratio Estimation Based on PSO Constriction Factor Method Parameters Evaluation

Abstract

The knowledge of materials' mechanical properties in design during product development phases is necessary to identify components and assembly problems. These are problems such as mechanical stresses and deformations which normally cause plastic deformation, early fatigue or even fracture. This article is aimed to use particle swarm optimization (PSO) and finite element inverse analysis to determine Young's Modulus and Poisson's ratio from a cantilever beam, manufactured in ASTM A36 steel, subjected to a load of 19.6 N applied to its free end. The cantilever beam was modeled and simulated using a commercial FEA software. Constriction Factor Method (PSO variation) was used and its parameters were analyzed in order to improve errors. PSO results indicated Young's Modulus and Poisson's ratio errors of around 1.9% and 0.4%, respectively, when compared to the original material properties. Improvement in the data convergence and a reduction in the number of PSO iterations was observed. This shows the potentiality of using PSO along with Finite Element Inverse Analysis for mechanical properties evaluation.