Product module identification based on PSO

A numerical optimization method for module identification based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed. A series of property correlations facing the product lifecycle are divided into functional, geometrical, physical and auxiliary ones, and the synthesis design structure matrix (DSM) is obtained. The optimization function for module identification is then established based on the principle of axiomatic design (i.e., close cohesion and loose coupling). Finally, the numerical optimization method for product module identification is implemented using PSO. Solutions is provided for some key issues such as constructing the integrated relationship matrix, building the objective optimization function, creating the numerical optimization process and encoding schema. An example is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approaches.