Solving the dilemma of contradictory goals

Abstract

Coupled problems in engineering inevitably lead to contradictory goals for single quality criteria. Applying numerical optimization to find the best solution requires the definition of an objective function based upon these criteria as a measure of merit for the whole design. It will be shown that the usual approach of a weighted sum is improper and unreliable. Also the consideration of the complete Pareto front is not only no solution to this problem, it usually requires a not maintainable amount of calculations. Therefore, a new approach for the definition of objective functions is proposed, which solves the dilemma of contradictory goals by finding an appropriate compromise based upon the intuition.