Boosting engineering optimization with a novel recursive transfer bi-fidelity surrogate modeling

Abstract In the engineering optimization, there often exist the multiple sources of information with different fidelity levels. In general, low-fidelity (LF) information is usually more accessible than high-fidelity (HF) information, while the latter is usually more accurate than the former. Thus, to capitalize on the advantages of this information, this study proposes a novel recursive transfer bi-fidelity surrogate modeling to fuse information from HF and LF levels. Firstly, the selection method of optimal scale factor is proposed for constructing bi-fidelity surrogate model. Then, a recursive method is developed to further improve its performance. The efficacy of the proposed model is comprehensively evaluated using numerical problems and an engineering example. Comparative analysis with some surrogate models (five multi-fidelity and a single-fidelity surrogate models) demonstrates the superior prediction accuracy and robustness of the proposed model. Additionally, the impact of varying cost ratios and combinations of HF and LF samples on the performance of the proposed model is also investigated, yielding consistent results. Overall, the proposed model has superior performance and holds potential for practical applications in engineering design optimization problems.