Structural rigidity optimization of thin laminated shells

International audienceIn this work, we present an optimization methodology used in order to optimize laminated composite shell structures with variable stiffness. Considering the maximization of the structural global rigidity measured by the compliance , a topology optimization problem of the anisotropy fields for thin laminated plates as well as the associated optimization algorithm are extended to thin laminated shells. Numerical examples with quasi-homogeneous angle-ply stacking sequences showing the optimization methodology feasibility are presented

Stiffness and Strength Optimization of the Anisotropy Distribution for Laminated Structures

In this paper, we deal with the problem of optimizing the anisotropy distribution of a laminated structure in order to maximize, simultaneously, its stiffness and strength. For these two objectives, two functionals are considered: the compliance as a measure of the plate stiffness and a laminate-level failure index as a measure of the strength. To solve this optimization problem we used a two-step hierarchical strategy: in the first step the aim is to find the best distribution of the stiffness and strength anisotropic tensors of an equivalent homogenized plate, while in the second one the objective is to find at least one laminate lay-up satisfying the optimal properties obtained as result of the first step. The polar formalism has been used to represent both the stiffness and strength tensors and allowed us to find analytical solutions to the local minimizations of the two functionals. A test case is finally presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy