The justification of functional properties of agricultural moving power units in the multi-objective scenario

BACKGROUND: Considering the developed technical facilities like moving power units (MPU) used in agricultural industry are described with numerous quality criteria, the design development issues should be solved in multi-objective and multi-factorial scenario. Therefore, the development of mathematical tools and software for solving these issues is a relevant aim [1-3].

AIMS: Determination of optimal functional properties of an agricultural MPU with numerous quality criteria including the conflictive ones.

METHODS: In this study, the algorithmic software for multi-objective optimization of functional properties of agricultural moving power units has been developed. The simulation models of MPU’s dominating quality criteria, functional limits and initial conditions for solving the multi-objective optimization task of MPU’s properties determination at the design and improvement stages are given. According to the expert assessment, the chosen dominating criteria are pressure on soil, productive capacity, energetic assessment based on relative reduction of total specific fuel-energy consumption, total maintenance costs and energy efficiency.

RESULTS: The calculations of quality criteria values in testing points – in the studied parameter space – were performed. According to the developed algorithm, the range of acceptable results for the MPU’s functional and design properties, which meet all criterial and functional limits given by the decision-making person (DMP), was derived. In addition, the Pareto set of solutions (points), which are the best options of the MPU’s functional properties and do not disgrace each other on totality of criteria, was derived. According to the optimization analysis, the DMP chooses the only one point from the Pareto set.

CONCLUSIONS: The developed mathematical models and the software based on the models are helpful to optimize the properties of agricultural moving power units with regard to various quality criteria including conflictive, functional, service criteria, etc. The software set allows performing the multi-objective optimization of an object with the total amount of considered quality criteria of up to 20 and with up to 50 variable parameters. . In order to use this software set to optimize other technical objects and tools, it is necessary to update the mathematical apparatus and, as a consequence, the software.