An adaptive marine predator algorithm based optimization method for hood lightweight design

The lightweight design of the hood is crucial for the structural optimization of an entire vehicle. However, traditional high-fidelity-based lightweight methods are time-consuming due to the complex structures of the hood, and the lightweight results heavily rely on engineering experiences. To this end, an improved adaptive marine predator algorithm (AMPA) is proposed to solve this problem. Compared to the original marine predator algorithm (MPA), the proposed AMPA adapts to optimization problems through three enhancements, including chaotic theory-based initialization, a mixed search strategy, and dynamic partitioning of iteration phases. Experimental comparisons of AMPA, MPA, and eight state-of-the-art algorithms are conducted on IEEE CEC2017 benchmark functions. AMPA outperforms the others in both 30- and 50-dimensional experiments. Friedman and Wilcoxon’s sign-rank tests further confirm AMPA’s superiority and statistical significance. An implicit parametric model of the hood is generated, and the critical design variables are determined through global sensitivity analysis to realize hood lightweight. The stacking method is employed to construct a surrogate meta-model of the hood to accelerate the optimization efficiency of the vehicle hood. Utilizing the meta-model and the proposed AMPA, the hood mass is reduced by 7.43% while all six static and dynamic stiffness metrics are enhanced. The effectiveness of the proposed optimization method is validated through finite element analysis.