Abstract: The layout design of satellite modules is considered to be NP-hard. It is not only a complex coupled system design problem but also a special multi-objective optimization problem. The greatest challenge in solving this problem is that the function to be optimized is characterized by a multitude of local minima separated by high-energy barriers. The Wang-Landau (WL) sampling method, which is an improved Monte Carlo method, has been successfully applied to solve many optimization problems. In this paper we use the WL sampling method to optimize the layout of a satellite module. To accelerate the search for a global optimal layout, local search (LS) based on the gradient method is executed once the Monte-Carlo sweep produces a new layout. By combining the WL sampling algorithm, the LS method, and heuristic layout update strategies, a hybrid method called WL-LS is proposed to obtain a final layout scheme. Furthermore, to improve significantly the efficiency of the algorithm, we propose an accurate and fast computational method for the overlapping depth between two objects (such as two rectangular objects, two circular objects, or a rectangular object and a circular object) embedding each other. The rectangular objects are placed orthogonally. We test two instances using first 51 and then 53 objects. For both instances, the proposed WL-LS algorithm outperforms methods in the literature. Numerical results show that the WL-LS algorithm is an effective method for layout optimization of satellite modules.

Key words: Packing, Layout design, Satellite module, Wang-Landau algorithm

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