Optimization-Based Design of Nonlinear Systems Using CONSOLE and SIMNON.

Abstract

The most challenging task when designing a nonlinear system is that of coming up with an appropriate system 'structure.' This task calls extensively upon the engineer's ingenuity, creativity, intuition and experience. After a structure has been (maybe temporarily) selected, it remains to determine the 'best' values of a number of 'design parameters.' The input from the engineer is still essential here, as trade offs are likely to be encountered. However, except in the simplest cases, achieving anything close to optimal would be impossible without the support of numerical optimization and simulation tools. In this report, we present an interface between CONSOLE, an interactive, optimization-based design package, and SIMNON, an interactive program for simulation of systems governed by ordinary differential equations and difference equations. We show, by means of an example, how to set up a design problem for nonlinear systems by using CONSOLE and SIMNON.