OPTIMUM DESIGN OF COMPOSITE STRUCTURES FOR SHAPE, LAYER ANGLE AND LAYER THICKNESS DISTRIBUTIONS

This article treats an optimum design of laminated composite structures subject to in-plane loading. A simplified design approach is developed to optimize layer angle and layer thickness distributions. First based on the minimum strain energy criterion, an explicit optimal relation is derived for layer angles and layer thickness ratios in a single-element laminate. Using the optimal relation in the single-element laminate, an optimization approach is developed for determining layer angle and layer thickness distributions in multi-element composite structures with strength constraints. The present approach can determine a rough structural shape in addition to layer angle and layer thickness distributions. It is shown that the optimal structure can be obtained with a small number of finite element analyses.