An efficient weighting update method to achieve acceptable consistency deviation in analytical target cascading

Weighting coefficients are used in analytical target cascading (ATC) at each element of the hierarchy to express the relative importance of (a) matching targets passed from the parent element and (b) maintaining consistency of linking variables and consistency with designs achieved by subsystem child elements. Proper selection of weight values is crucial when the top-level targets are unattainable, for example when stretch targets are used. In. this case, strict design consistency cannot be achieved with finite weights; however it is possible to achieve arbitrarily small inconsistencies. This article presents an iterative method for finding weighting coefficients that achieve solutions within user-specified inconsistency tolerances and demonstrates its effectiveness with several examples. The method also led to reduced computational time in the demonstration examples.