Optimization in engineering design is an important aspect of the design process. It aims at a more efficient and rational allocation of resources resulting in improved productivity. This research aims at extension of local monotonicity to optimal design of large systems of mechanical components which are encountered very often in mechanical design. The idea of decomposition theory will be used to break down a large-scale nonlinearly constrained design optimization problem into a collection of small problems. These small problems will then be optimized and their solutions coordinated in a prescribed manner, leading to the solution to the original problem. Problems arising from the design and/or application of mechanical systems will be used as guiding examples. The result of this work will complement the existing numerical optimization techniques, in particular those which are used for solving large-scale constrained nonlinear optimization problems.
