The present work concerns the replacement of the typical trial and test design process of the control arm of a medium size car with a problem of multidisciplinary optimisation with shape variables. Component design requirements ask for several structural responses to be considered, among which, the buckling load of the structure. The problem has been solved by calculating this response through use of both a linear code and a non linear one.

The introduction of a non linear response has made it necessary to define a method for the non linear design sensitivity analysis. The method is based on the division of the space of admissible variables in different subspaces within which the non linear response is approximated by a linear function expressed in the optimisation variables using the Surface Response Methodology.

The determination of the non linear response value at each optimisation cycle with a non linear code makes it possible to constantly update the approximated model, and therefore, the values of the sensitivity coefficients, thus obtaining very accurate results.

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