Derivation of qualitative sensitivities using existing optimum design results of simple structures

In past sequential studies on qualitative optimization, it has been shown that we can carry out optimization using qualitative grasps of the behaviors of the objective functions and constraints. A key issue in carrying out qualitative optimization is the determination of qualitative sensitivities. In this paper, we propose a new method of deriving qualitative sensitivities using existing optimum design results of simple structures. In general, the results of optimum design greatly depend on the formulation of the problem, so it is very difficult for the designer to formulate large-scale or complex problems, and to formulate their sensitivities. However, even in these cases, it will be possible to use analogies with parts of the optimization results for simple structures. In this study, we estimate qualitative sensitivities by making use of local information regarding these existing optimum results. We examine the proposed method and demonstrate the effectiveness of the method through simple numerical examples.