A NEW FORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM OF OPTIMUM REINFORCEMENT OF REISSNER-MINDLIN PLATES

A new formulation of the problem of computing the layout of reinforcem ent of Reissner-Mindlin plates for minimum compliance is presented. Be nding and transverse shear stiffness properties of plates with an arbi trary but finite number of local rib directions and widths are compute d using standard homogenization techniques. These properties are then expressed in terms of only four variables that fully describe the anis otropy of the plate. The optimization problem is solved in two stages consisting of a local, four-dimensional maximization problem, where a given amount of material is optimally allocated into an arbitrary numb er of fine scale stiffeners of different widths and orientations, and a global one-dimensional optimization problem, where the optimum spati al layout of material is determined. A discussion of implementation is sues is included and an example is solved to illustrate the approach.