Optimization of the cooling regime of hot-rolled complex beams.

This work examines the possibility of using some classical optimization methods (augmented Lagrange multiplier method) or genetic algorithms and neural networks to optimize the cooling regime in hot-rolled complex beam processing. The objective is to optimize the cooling conditions so as to minimize the residual stresses. A detailed example shows that using this stochastic method and neural networks can be efficient. In other words, this work involves finite element analyses of both mechanical and thermodynamic properties of cooling beams, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and optimization to find a cooling regime with minimum residual stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]