Stacking sequence design of composite laminates for maximum strength usinggenetic algorithms

This paper uses genetic algorithms (GAs) for the optimal design of symmetri c composite laminates subject to various loading and boundary conditions. T o analyze these laminates, the finite element method based on shear deforma tion theory is used. The Tsai-Hill failure criterion is taken as the fitnes s function, and the ply orientation angles are the design variables. In the GA, tournament selection and the uniform crossover method are used. The el itist model is also used for an effective evolution strategy and the creepi ng random search method is adopted in order to approach the solution with h igh accuracy. Optimization results are given for various loading and bounda ry conditions. The results show that optimization via a GA can find the glo bal optimal solution leading to a substantial decrease in the failure index . (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.