SHAPES OF ORTHOTROPIC PLATES FOR MINIMUM ENERGY CONCENTRATION

Orthotropic materials are now frequently used in engineering design. There is thus a need to understand the effects of optimal shape design with these materials. Stiffness as well as strength are direction-dependent, and designs that are rather different from optimal shapes should be expected with isotropic materials. This is confirmed in this paper. However, for minimum energy concentration and one load case, optimal designs still exhibit uniform energy density. For orthotropic materials, an extensive study is performed, including design dependence on the analysis modeling. In the last part of the paper, combinations with thickness and orientational optimization are included. It is concluded that established methods can be directly extended.