Optimal Design of Composite Laminate With Uncertainty in Loading and Material Properties Considered

Abstract

Optimal design of composite laminates with uncertain in-plane loadings and material properties is considered. The stacking sequence is designed to have maximum buckling load based on anti-optimization approach. To consider the above-mentioned uncertain properties, the convex modeling and Monte Carlo simulation techniques are used in calculating objective function. For the stacking sequence optimization, it is used the modified genetic algorithm which handles the discrete ply angles and the constraints easily. Numerical results are given for rectangular laminates of various aspect ratios. The optimal solutions from the deterministic and the stochastic cases are obtained and it is demonstrated the importance of considering uncertainty. The buckling load carried by a deterministic design is much less than the one carried by a design uncertainty considered when both are subjected to uncertain loads. Also, it is examined the effects of the method for considering uncertainty on the optimization process in the light of computational efficiency and reliability of solutions obtained.