Optimization of Wheel Rim Design according to its Aesthetic Value

This was a group project that was completed as part of the final project assignment for the ME 558 Discrete Design Optimization course at the University of Michigan.

Abstract from Final Report

Using Gestalt principles to quantify the aesthetic value of car wheel rims based on its geometry, we proposed a method to optimize car wheel rim designs. We applied our optimization method on the V-spoke and Fan-spoke wheel designs using four Gestalt Principles and several practical wheel rim design constraints. The optimized spoke geometry and number of spokes for each wheel type were identified using Branch-and-Bound as well as Genetic Algorithm. We found that for the V-Spoke design, the optimal solution always had the minimum allowable number of spokes and the thinnest possible spokes. For the Fan-spoke design, there were widely varying local optimal solutions yielding very similar Gestalt values.