*2.3. Parameter Selection Approach in the Optimization*

The optimization parameters of the machine geometry optimization represent those geometry parameters which are varied during the optimization process in order to find a better solution. These parameters are intended to cover a high degree of possible degrees of freedom of the geometry. With a higher number of optimization parameters, the number of dimensions of the search space increases and so does the required solution effort. It is therefore desirable to choose those geometry parameters that have the greatest influence on the searched output variables and the lowest degree of redundancy. Therefore, the choice of optimization parameters in this work is done by using the parameter selection method presented in [27]. The approach for the parameter selection is problem-specific and is also influenced by the selected system model. This is a result of the approach for the model selection, which must be applied accordingly in advance.

In the approach, the sensitivities and the elasticities with respect to the output variables relevant for the optimization are examined for each geometry parameter. The optimization parameters are sorted according to their elasticity and the parameters with the greatest influence on the optimization problem are identified. The sensitivity and elasticity analysis used is briefly described in the following.
