Optimal Design of Sandwich Panels Using Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm and Finite Element Method

Abstract

Low weight and high load capacity are remarkable advantages of sandwich panels with corrugated core, which make them more considerable by engineering structure designers. It’s important to consider the limitations such as yielding and buckling as design constraints for optimal design of these panels. In this paper, multi-objective optimization of sandwich panels with corrugated core is carried out by minimizing two supposed objective functions, the structure’s weight and deflection. The finite element model of structure is created using the commercial software ANSYS, which is employed to calculate the deflection of panel in different problem conditions. A NSGA-II code prepared in MATLAB, is used to perform the optimization process in a gradual evolution trend, which leads to obtain the Pareto front consisting a set of design vectors and optimal objective function vectors. Two conventional methods are then used to select the trade-off optimal point among the Pareto non-dominant optimal set.