Abstract
In this paper, a new mechanism is presented to address the multi-objective optimal alloy design problem, which consists of finding the ‘best’ processing parameters and the corresponding chemical compositions to achieve certain pre-defined mechanical properties of steels. Fuzzy modelling has been used to establish the required mechanical properties which facilitate the Particle Swarm based multi-objective optimisation mechanism. Hence, an adaptive weighted PSO algorithm is developed to improve the performance of the standard PSO algorithm. Based on the established tensile strength and impact toughness fuzzy prediction models, the proposed algorithm has been successfully applied to the optimal design of heat-treated alloy steels. The experimental results have shown that the algorithm can locate the constrained optimal solutions quickly and provide a useful and effective guide for alloy steels design.
