Structural Optimization of Laminated Plates with Genetic Algorithms

Laminated plate optimization is a combinatorial problem where the objective is to find the optimal sequence of materials from a given set, along with the respective fiber orientation. Due to manufacturing reasons, the size of each ply can only take a discrete number of values and, together with the available materials, results in an integer programming problem. Therefore, an approach based on Genetic Algorithms seems to present some advantages in the solution of this structural optimization problem. The proposed stiffness maximization approach optimizes the stacking sequence of various plies, with different orientations and materials; the thickness of each ply and the global number of plies are, a priori, assumed. Moreover, a constraint on the global cost is also presented. Genetic Algorithms successfully identify the designs with the desired structural response.