MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMAL DESIGN OF SANDWICH COMPOSITE LAMINATES USING SIMULATED ANNEALING AND FEM

Multi-objective optimal design of sandwich composite laminates consisting of high stiffness and expensive surface layers and low-stiffness and inexpensive core layer is addressed in this paper. The object is to determine ply angles and number of surface layers and core thickness in such way that natural frequency is maximized with minimal material cost and weight. A simulated annealing algorithm with finite element method is used for simultaneous cost and weight minimization and frequency maximization. The proposed procedure is applied to Graphite-Epoxy/Glass-Epoxy and Graphite-epoxy/Aluminum sandwich laminates and results are obtained for various boundary conditions and aspect ratios. Results show that this technique is useful in designing of effective, competitive and light composite structures.