Optimization is the generic name for studies that « automatically » find the optimum setting for a given output variable. These optimization processes are implemented around the finite element simulation, considering these calculations as configurable inputs. There are many kinds of optimization:

• The parametric optimization, in which the parameters are scalar quantities (thickness, density, Young's modulus);
• The topological optimization, in which the parameters represent the room itself and enable the search for optimal design concepts under a given load;
• The shape optimization, in which the parameters represent the work piece surface, in order to optimize it locally and « finely » and decrease a local variable (ex: a local stress field);
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