Adaptive growth technique of stiffener layout pattern for plate and shell structures to achieve minimum compliance

A new and effective generation method for the stiffener layout pattern for plate and shell structures to achieve minimum compliance, the so-called adaptive growth technique, is suggested in this paper. The method is based on the adaptive growth rule of branch systems in nature that branches grow and branch off automatically towards such directions that can improve the global functional performance, such as the maximum absorption of sunlight or water. It is expected that a plate or shell structure can achieve good mechanical performance if the stiffeners extend by obeying a similar adaptive growing and branching rule as branch systems in nature. The stiffeners, starting from the so-called seeds, grow and branch off towards the direction with the maximum effectiveness of the global mechanical performance, which is dependent on the design sensitivity of the current structure. During the growth process, the volume increment is controlled so as to make it possible to create new branches and to eliminate degenerate branches. The validity and effectiveness of the suggested method are confirmed by some typical stiffener layout design problems.