An Innovative Optimized Design for Laminated Composites in terms of a Proposed Bi-Objective Technique

Abstract

The article proposes a bi-objective optimization approach for layup design of laminates. The optimization method combines the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) heuristics and Simulated Annealing (SA) optimization method. The minimum weight optimization is subjected to design constraints such as strength, stiffness, layup blending continuity, and several manufacturing design rules, which are combined as a single function and included within the bi-objective formulation. Several composite materials design problems are included to show the capabilities and usefulness of the proposed method. The optimization analysis has also been connected to the finite element analysis to solve the problem of composite plate optimization with blending constraints. The plate is divided into some regions, and the blending constraints are imposed globally by using the concepts of the greater-than-or-equal-to blending to achieve continuity of laminate layups across the regions. The results generally showed that the proposed method led to excellent results, representing a promising approach for the design of laminated composite materials.