Editing Multidisciplinary design optimization (section)

{{Short description|Field of engineering}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2017}}

'''Multi-disciplinary design optimization''' ('''MDO''') is a field of [[engineering]] that uses [[optimization (mathematics)|optimization]] methods to solve [[design]] problems incorporating a number of disciplines. It is also known as '''multidisciplinary system design optimization''' ('''MSDO'''), and '''multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization''' ('''MDAO''').

MDO allows designers to incorporate all relevant disciplines simultaneously. The optimum of the simultaneous problem is superior to the design found by optimizing each discipline sequentially, since it can exploit the interactions between the disciplines. However, including all disciplines simultaneously significantly increases the [[computational complexity theory|complexity]] of the problem.

These techniques have been used in a number of fields, including [[automobile]] design, [[naval architecture]], [[electronics]], [[architecture]], [[computer]]s, and [[electricity distribution]]. However, the largest number of applications have been in the field of [[aerospace engineering]], such as [[aircraft]] and [[spacecraft]] design. For example, the proposed [[Boeing]] [[blended wing body]] (BWB) aircraft concept has used MDO extensively in the conceptual and preliminary design stages. The disciplines considered in the BWB design are [[aerodynamics]], [[structural analysis]], [[Air propulsion|propulsion]], [[control theory]], and [[economics]].