Optimizing the Fiber-to-Yarn Production Process with a Combined Neural Network/Genetic Algorithm Approach

Abstract

An important aspect of the fiber-to-yam production process is the quality of the resulting yarn. The yarn should have optimal product characteristics (and minimal faults). In theory, this objective can be realized using an optimization algorithm. The complexity of a fiber-to-yarn process is very high, however, and no mathematical function is known to exist that represents the whole process. This paper presents a method to simulate and optimize the fiber-to-yam production process using a neural network combined with a genetic algorithm. The neural network is used to model the process, with the machine settings and fiber quality parameters as input and the yarn tenacity and elongation as output. The genetic algorithm is used afterward to optimize the input parameters for obtaining the best yarns. Since this is a multi-objective optimization, the genetic algorithm is enforced with a sharing function and a Pareto optimization. The paper shows that simultaneous optimization of yarn qualities is easily achieved as a function of the necessary (optimal) input parameters, and that the results are considerably better than current manual machine intervention. The last part of the paper is dedicated to finding an optimal mixture of available fiber qualities based on the predictions of the genetic algorithm.