A new ensemble modeling approach for reliability-based design optimization of flexure-based bridge-type amplification mechanisms

Reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) for the design process of the flexure-based bridge-type amplification mechanisms (FBTAMs) relies on an accurate surrogate model. At present, ensemble modeling approaches have been widely used. However, existing ensemble modeling approaches for the RBDO have not considered the model form selection in the process modeling, which leads to an inaccurate quality estimation. Aiming at addressing the drawback of existing ensemble modeling approaches for the RBDO, a new ensemble modeling approach is proposed. The stepwise model selection strategy is adopted where redundant model(s) will be eliminated before constructing an ensemble model. The proposed ensemble modeling approach is applied to a typical FBTAM to illustrate its effectiveness. Results revealed that the proposed ensemble modeling approach has a higher accuracy compared with existing ensemble modeling approaches, and thus reached a better RBDO solution.