A Technique for Stiffness Improvement by Optimization of Fiber Steering in Composite Plates

A methodology for stiffness improvement by optimal orientation of fibers placed using fiber steering techniques of composite plates has been developed and is described here. A genetic algorithm is employed to determine the optimal orientation of the tow fibers and, in addition, once the plate has been divided up into cells in order to apply the technique, the orientation gradient between adjacent cells is capped. The finite element method (FEM) is used to determine the fitness of each design candidate. The approach developed also differs from existing ones by having a more sophisticated chromosome string. By relying on the algorithm for the calculation of the fiber orientation in a specific cell, a relatively short and rapid convergence string is assembled. The numerical results obtained show a significant improvement in stiffness when the fiber orientation angle is allowed to vary spatially throughout the ply.