Abstract
Optimum design of Belleville spring stacks presents several noncommensurable criteria such as maximization of the load carrying capacity and minimization of the total weight and the overall height. The problem also contains a mix of continuous, discrete and integer type design variables. This paper proposes a design optimization method in which a min-max approach is combined with a modified branch-and-bound algorithm to solve this multiobjective optimization problem. A set of Pareto optimal solutions can be generated to allow the user to select the preferred solution. The problem statement, optimization methodology, and a representative set of numerical results are presented.

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