Thermal buckling optimization of composite laminates by evolution strategies

Thermal buckling optimization of laminated composite plates subject to a te mperature rise is presented in this paper. Aerospace structures require suc h components that are able to withstand the external environment loads with out loss of stability. The discrete optimal design problem, formulated unde r strain and ply contiguity constraints is solved using evolution strategie s, a guided random-search method. Two different constraint handling methods are investigated and compared: the disregarding infeasible solutions and t he classical penalty function approach. The results are also compared with an exact enumerative study conducted on the problem, showing the effectiven ess and performance of the proposed approach. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd . All rights reserved.