{"title":"A stochastic linear neural network-based differential evolution algorithm for optimizing reluctance actuator","authors":"Yunlang Xu , Datong Pan , Longbin Jiang , Haibo Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103983","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103983","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reluctance actuators encounter significant challenges in active gravity compensation due to nonlinear effects including dynamic stiffness, leakage flux, and fringing flux, which cause unstable thrust output during operation. This study focuses on suppressing thrust fluctuations in open-loop reluctance actuator gravity compensation systems through design parameter optimization. We first establish a parametric optimization model based on equivalent magnetic circuit principles to characterize nonlinear thrust dynamics. To address limitations in conventional optimization approaches, we develop a differential evolution algorithm enhanced by a stochastic linear neural network (DE-SLNN). This hybrid method combines conventional linear neural networks (CLNN) with a stochastic dynamic opposite learning mechanism (SDOLM) to strengthen DE’s search capability. Comprehensive validation using CEC 2014 benchmark confirms DE-SLNN’s accelerated convergence speed and superior search performance. Application to reluctance actuator optimization demonstrates DE-SLNN’s ability to maintain full-stroke thrust output with a small deviation of less than 2.69% for stable gravity compensation, as confirmed by thrust distribution analysis. Comparative validation with finite element analysis (FEA) reveals thrust error control within 0.16%, verifying the optimization model’s precision. Experimental results demonstrate the framework’s effectiveness in mitigating nonlinearities and achieving stable thrust output within the actuator’s operational stroke.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 103983"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144634119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrated software platform for the structural health control of historical constructions and numerical model calibration (HH-Structures)","authors":"Y. Cruz, B. Conde, M. Cabaleiro, B. Riveiro","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103994","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103994","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Currently, BIM systems applied to new building construction are highly developed, standardised and widely implemented. However, this situation contrasts with the existing difficulties in their application to the field of built heritage, where important limitations persist. Among the main shortcomings is the lack of commercial or end-user tools to efficiently structure the information needed for the management and assessment of structural health in historic bridges. In this context, it is essential to enable robust bi-directional communication between 3D models generated in Building Information Modelling (BIM) environments and structural analysis software based on the Finite Element Method (FEM), thus promoting interoperability between platforms. Furthermore, to reduce the impact of uncertainties inherent in the modelling of in-service structures, it is essential to complement numerical models with experimental data and to apply advanced calibration methodologies. In response to these challenges, HH-Structures, a comprehensive platform for structural health monitoring of historic bridges, is presented. This platform combines non-destructive techniques with automated numerical model calibration processes, and enables the interoperable exchange of information between BIM environments and FEM analysis software, in order to provide rigorous support for structural analysis of heritage constructions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 103994"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144604189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prediction of the limiting uniform normal pressure in deep contiguous piled walls using soft computing techniques","authors":"Divesh Ranjan Kumar , Warit Wipulanusat , Duy Tan Tran , Suraparb Keawsawasvong","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103993","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103993","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In urban civil engineering projects, deep contiguous piled walls are crucial for support and stability, particularly in limited spaces. This study employs advanced soft computing techniques, integrating FELA simulations, XGBoost, and optimization algorithms (PSO, GWO, and WOA), to predict the limiting uniform normal pressure behind circular and I-shaped contiguous piled walls in cohesive soil. The key factors in the prediction model include the soil properties, pile wall geometry, and soil strength parameters such as the spacing-to-width ratio (S/B or S/D), adhesion factor (m), height-to-width ratio of the I-section (H/B), and friction angle (<em>φ</em>). The sensitivity analysis reveals that for circular-shaped piles, <em>φ</em> is the most influential parameter (<em>R</em> = 0.69, R<sub>i</sub> = 47 %), followed by the m and S/D, with moderate impacts (<em>R</em> = 0.49 and 0.28, R<sub>i</sub> = 34 % and 19 %, respectively). For I-shaped piles, the m has the highest effect (<em>R</em> = 0.52, R<sub>i</sub> = 28 %) followed by the S/B (<em>R</em> = 0.49, R<sub>i</sub> = 26 %), H/B (<em>R</em> = 0.45, R<sub>i</sub> = 24 %) and <em>φ</em> (<em>R</em> = 0.41, R<sub>i</sub> = 22 %). The predictive performance of the constructed model was assessed using several performance metrics, regression plot, residual error histogram and regression error characteristic (REC) curve. The hybrid XGBoost-WOA model is identified as the most effective for both circular and I-shaped piles based on various performance metrics (<em>R<sup>2</sup></em>, RMSE, MAE, WMAPE, VAF, and PI) and error analyses. This approach aims to improve prediction accuracy and address the limitations of traditional methods in deep contiguous piled wall design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 103993"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effect of distributed DVAs on stochastic dynamic behaviors of FG-GPLRC annular plates","authors":"Haochen Hu , Rui Zhong , Qingshan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103982","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103982","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Based on dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) technology, a hybrid numerical method combining the spectro-geometric method (SGM) and the pseudo-excitation method (PEM) is proposed to analyze the free vibration characteristics and stochastic dynamic behavior of functionally graded graphene platelet-reinforced composites (FG-GPLRC) annular plates under various stationary and nonstationary stochastic excitations. The dynamic model of the DVA is simplified as a spring–mass system. Within the theoretical framework of the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), the Lagrangian energy functional of the coupled structure is constructed, and the dynamic response of the coupled system is obtained using the Rayleigh-Ritz variational method. The numerical accuracy of the proposed method is validated by comparing the results with those from existing literature and the finite element method (FEM). On this basis, the effectiveness of DVAs in suppressing structural vibration is demonstrated, and the effects of structural dimensions, material properties, and DVA installation parameters on the dynamic behavior of the coupled system are examined.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 103982"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From density to CAD: Automatic and robust CAD model generation of topology optimization results via sparse optimization","authors":"Zepeng Wen , Xiaoya Zhai , Hongmei Kang","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103977","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103977","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Topology optimization (TO) is a mature design technique that provides a conceptual design with the desired structural performance. However, the raw TO results cannot be interactively fine-tuned for conceptual design or further post-processing. This paper proposes an automatic and effective framework that can convert TO results into editable CAD models. The marching cubes algorithm is utilized to obtain discrete boundary points, which are subsequently transformed into CAD format via the sparse curve fitting technique. The proposed framework ensures robust and automatic reconstruction of the TO results of macrostructures and microstructures, especially complex small-scale structures with tiny holes and a few extracted points. We developed a Rhino plug-in, facilitating designers to modify the structural layout and intuitively assess the performance of the editable structures. Furthermore, we address stress concentrations by editing the reconstructed CAD models to illustrate the application of the proposed method.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 103977"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144534815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dilek Kaya , Tufan Cakir , Kasif Furkan Ozturk , Onur Araz
{"title":"Effect of frequency content of ground motion on seismic response of buildings with variable aspect ratio including soil-structure interaction","authors":"Dilek Kaya , Tufan Cakir , Kasif Furkan Ozturk , Onur Araz","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103981","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103981","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil-structure interaction (SSI) may lead to reduction, amplification or negligible change in structural responses depending on the relationship between the nature of excitations and subsoil conditions. Since neglecting SSI effects may cause uncertainties in seismic design, it is crucial to consider them during the design process. Another important factor affecting the dynamic behavior of structures interacting with the ground is the dynamic properties of the structures. To consider this effect, three buildings with 4, 8, and 12 stories designed in accordance with the Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBEC-2018) are analyzed. The aspect ratios of these structures are 2, 4, and 6, corresponding to squat, ordinary, and slender structures, respectively. The primary objective of this study is to simulate the combined effects of these key parameters on the dynamic response of reinforced concrete structures. In the time history analyses, six ground motions classified by three different frequency contents are considered. 3D finite element models of SSI systems are established using ANSYS software. The usability of the numerical models is demonstrated for both SSI and fixed-base cases through three different analytical approaches. The displacement, acceleration, and stress responses are examined through time history analyses. The results indicate that the SSI is not negligible and neglecting the SSI is an oversimplification that does not lead to always-conservative predictions. Moreover, both the frequency content of the excitation and the structural aspect ratio are found to be decisive parameters in seismic response.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 103981"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144514019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bilinear-inverse-mapper: Analytical solution and algorithm for inverse mapping of bilinear interpolation of quadrilaterals","authors":"Indrajeet Sahu","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103975","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103975","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The challenge of finding parametric coordinates of bilinear interpolation of a point with respect to a quadrilateral in 2D or 3D frequently arises as a subproblem in various applications, e.g. finite element methods, computational geometry, and computer graphics. The accuracy and efficiency of inverse mapping in such cases are critical, as the accumulation of errors can significantly affect the quality of the overall solution to the broader problem. This mapping is nonlinear and typically solved with Newton’s iterative method, which is not only prone to convergence issues but also incurs high computational cost. This paper presents an analytical solution to this inverse mapping, along with a comprehensive geometric analysis covering all possible quadrilateral configurations. It describes the invertibility of all points and extends the discussion to 3D and concave quadrilaterals. The proposed algorithm is robust, free from failure due to convergence issues or oscillations in iterative methods, and achieves approximately <span><math><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>4</mn><mo>×</mo></mrow></math></span> higher computational speed compared to Newton’s method for quadrilaterals with non-parallel opposite edges. This enables an efficient calculation of shape functions or interpolation functions at all invertible spatial points. The high-accuracy, high-speed computational solution will be particularly advantageous in applications involving high spatial or temporal discretisation (i.e. fine mesh and small timesteps) where iterative methods will be computationally expensive. The analytical solution based algorithm is available as an open-source library at <span><span>https://github.com/sahu-indrajeet/Bilinear-Inverse-Mapper</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 103975"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chengshan Li , Junxiao Liu , Yuqin Ma , Xiaoyi An , Da Lyu , Yufan Cao
{"title":"An efficient multi-fidelity space-division assisted optimization approach for computationally expensive problems","authors":"Chengshan Li , Junxiao Liu , Yuqin Ma , Xiaoyi An , Da Lyu , Yufan Cao","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103979","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103979","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents a multi-fidelity optimization approach for computationally expensive problems, aiming to efficiently find the global optimum by utilizing MF models. Firstly, high-fidelity (HF) and low-fidelity (LF) samples are selected and calculated, respectively. Subsequently, the design space is categorized into four types based on the responses of the HF and LF samples: overlapped subspace, HF promising subspace, merged subspace, and global space. These defined spaces are explored alternately to find the global optimum. To further reduce computational expenses, a correlation analysis process is introduced to determine whether the HF or LF model should be used as the objective function in the present subspace. To avoid missing the global optima, both local exploitation and global exploration strategies are employed in these subspaces. The proposed method named multi-fidelity space-division assisted optimization (MFSDO) is compared with four popular methods using twenty-three mathematical test problems, results demonstrate that MFSDO offers advantages in reducing computational costs. Additionally, MFSDO is applied to optimize the structure of a blended-wing-body underwater glider. Results indicate that the structure mass is significantly reduced with much less computational cost while ensuring safety, which verifies the efficiency and engineering applicability of our proposed method.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 103979"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144471300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chaokai Zhang , Feng Zhu , Wenye He , Zhiqing Cheng , Songbai Ji
{"title":"Optimizing foam padding of the advanced combat helmet to maximize protection of blast-induced brain injury and wearing comfort","authors":"Chaokai Zhang , Feng Zhu , Wenye He , Zhiqing Cheng , Songbai Ji","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103980","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103980","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Advanced combat helmet (ACH) is critical for mitigating the risk of blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI). Helmet foam pads are in continuous contact with the head to provide mechanical support. They are essential for helmet bTBI mitigation effectiveness and wearing comfort. In this study, we parametrically investigate the significance of foam pad thickness and relative density on reducing the peak intracranial pressure (ICP) from blast. In addition, we study how they influence the perceived comfort, by quantifying the distribution uniformity of ACH-to-scalp pressure resulting from gravity, referred to as the Comfort Index. Three specific pad thicknesses and random relative densities coupled with a range of trinitrotoluene (TNT) masses placed to the front or side of the helmet-head complex were used for simulation. The incidence pressures from the ConWep model were used as input for blast loading. The ratios between peak ICP in the corpus callosum and the peak incident pressure as well as the comfort indices were analyzed using a data-driven approach. A multi-functional design method, Pareto front, was used to identify sets of optimal parameters based on user preferred weighting factors for ICP reduction and head surface pressure distribution. Finally, a decision tree was applied to refine the rules for optimal designs. For an equal weighting on ICP reduction and surface pressure distribution, a pad thickness of 10 mm and relative density of 7.7 % were identified. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of combining Pareto front and decision trees for the identification of optimal design parameters for the ACH.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 103980"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144365765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lorenzo De Santanna, Massimiliano Gobbi, Riccardo Malacrida, Gianpiero Mastinu
{"title":"Multi-objective optimisation of complex mechanisms using Moving Spheres: An application to suspension elasto-kinematics","authors":"Lorenzo De Santanna, Massimiliano Gobbi, Riccardo Malacrida, Gianpiero Mastinu","doi":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103974","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.advengsoft.2025.103974","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents a new iterative method, called Moving Spheres (MS), for solving multi-objective design optimisation problems involving three-dimensional mechanisms. The method is suited to problems in which most of the design variables belong to the three-dimensional Euclidean space. MS method is able to explore efficiently the design space and identifies the regions where the optimal solutions are located, resulting in a clear spatial representation of optimal solutions. In this paper, MS method is applied to the elasto-kinematic optimisation of an automotive suspension system. The optimal locations of suspension joints are sought within spherical neighbourhoods of a reference suspension. This preserves the kinematic compatibility of the mechanism and facilitates the exploration of the design space through iterative updates of the reference suspension. The rigorous <span><math><mi>k</mi></math></span>-optimality metric, which introduces a hierarchical sorting in the Pareto-optimal set, is employed to rank optimal design solutions. In the suspension test case, the Pareto-optimal set of approximated through Moving Spheres method is compared with the Pareto-optimal sets resulting from Parameter Space Investigation and multi-objective optimisation Genetic Algorithm with sorting (KEMOGA) methods, considering similar computational time. Moving Spheres method yields a more accurate approximation of the Pareto-optimal set.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50866,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Engineering Software","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 103974"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144329967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}