The Concept of Coordination Strategies Models in Hierarchical Systems

Use of decomposition-based design optimization methods requires a priori selection of system partitioning and of the corresponding coordination strategy. Typically, partitioning systems into smaller, easier to solve subproblems leads to more complicated, computationally expensive coordination strategies. Previous optimal partitioning techniques have not addressed the coordination issue explicitly. Decomposition-based design optimization methods can ease difficulties associated with complex system design. Their application, however, requires that both a system partition and a coordination strategy are defined a priori. The partitioning task involves clustering m analysis functions required for the system design problem into N subproblems. Subproblem solution must be coordinated in a way that leads to a consistent and optimal system design. Partitioning and coordination decisions should be made such that the decomposed problem is less complex to solve than the original undecomposed problem.