Authors: Heinz Engl, Ludwig Holzleitner, and Kamel Mahmoud
Abstract: The present work describes a methodology for structural optimization using the commercial finite element package MSC/NASTRAN for structural analysis, a quasi-analytical method for design sensitivity analysis, and sequential quadratic programming with an active set strategy for optimization. The optimization and sensitivity analysis modules are efficiently coupled with MSC/NASTRAN using DMAP (Direct Matrix Abstraction Program) statements. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed methodology, the design optimization of a unit injector rocker arm is presented as an example.