Scaling-law-based metamodels for the sizing of mechatronic systems

This paper presents a new metamodel form and associated construction procedure adapted to the sizing tasks of mechatronics systems. This method of meta-modeling uses scaling laws to extract compact forms of design models from local numerical simulations (FEM). Compared to traditional metamodels (polynomial response surfaces, kriging, radial basis function) the scaling-law-based metamodels have the advantage of a light, compact form and good predictive accuracy over a wide range of the design variables (several orders of magnitude). The general regression process is first explained and then illustrated on different examples: a purely numerical test function, a limited angle electromagnetic actuator and a flexible mechanical hinge. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.