Managing uncertainties in electromagnetic design problems with robust optimization

Numerical optimization techniques are widely used for the design of electromagnetic devices. In practical implementations of such devices, the problem parameters may be subject to tolerances and uncertainties. Optimal designs should be insensitive to parameter variations. The demand for robustness is often neglected during the optimization process. A formulation of robust nonlinear design problems is proposed in this paper. The influence of uncertainties on the target performance and the feasibility of a solution is assessed and incorporated into the optimization strategy. Methods for the solution of robust problems are introduced. Special emphasis is put on keeping the computational effort as small as possible. The proposed robust optimization method is applied to a standard benchmark optimization problem.