Optimal Multifunctional Material Systems

Methods are presented for defining an optimal material system capable of controlling the environment within a structure. Too often in current practice each material element, called upon to perform a given function, such as structural support, sound or heat control, is specified independently. Currently each material element is designed to perform one function independent of the other elements. Efforts should be made to design interacting elements capable of performing more than one function, designated as a multifunctional material element. The methods are presented to aid in defining the optimal material system. These methods consist of user-oriented computer procedures for calculating the sound, heat, and structural characteristics of a stacked box structure. A special optimization procedure for handling multiobject function problems is presented, along with special heuristic features which can be used in conjunction with the optimization procedure.