An Optimization Approach to the Computer Simulation of Composite Materials

Abstract

A procedure for the optimal modal design of a beam made of a composite material was developed. The two components considered for the composite are a light concrete as the matrix and a polyester fiber as the filler. The fibers inside of the matrix tend to aggregate and to take this into account in the modeling, a subroutine that generates random finite elements corresponding to the fiber clusters was constructed. Three-dimensional simulation using a volumetric model allows to obtain the solutions by means of a coupled modal analysis-optimization procedure, by employing the ANSYS software. The weight of the beam is considered as the objective function. Restrictions are imposed on the first resonant frequency as well as on the design parameters: percentage of fiber polyester, density of the components, and thickness of the beam. The results provide the optimum set of solutions in terms of the parameters that minimize the weight of the beam, while maintaining the first frequency within a specified range of values.

Optimal design of laminate composite plates using dynamic hybrid adaptive harmony search algorithm

“…The strain failure load factor cs corresponds to the smallest load factor in equation (12) such that, in at least one of the layers, one of the principal strains reaches or exceeds its allowable value, calculated " 1 ua , " 2 ua , ua 12 . A safety factor equal to 1.5 is used to calculate the allowable strains.…”

“…The load cases given in Table 3 have been solved in the literature 13,18,59 for the optimum buckling and failure loads using GAs. The buckling and failure loads of the simply supported composite plate can be computed using equation (6) and equations (12) to (14). Several optimal designs exist for all these load cases, which are close to optimal buckling and failure loads.…”

“…4 Simplified approaches range from the use of preliminary design tools (netting analysis, carpet plots 5,6 ) to the adoption of graphical methods in which special lamination parameters are used as continuous design parameters to select the best ply distribution among typical laminate configurations. 7,8 In more advanced analyses, the design of the stacking sequence of fiber reinforced composite laminates has been formulated and attacked as a continuous optimisation problem, [9][10][11][12] where ply thicknesses and ply orientations are represented by continuous real-value design variables and solved by using gradientbased methods to improve performance of the structure. However, these methods met with limited success for two reasons.…”

The challenge of optimizing expensive black boxes: a scatter search/rough set theory approach

“…Some of the most recent applications include the optimization of batch operations in an environmental-friendly plant (Halim and Srinivasan, 2008), the optimization of a beam made of composite materials (Horta-Rangel et al, 2009), the optimization of staff in a health-care facility (Ahmed and Alkhamis, 2009), the scheduling of loading operations in container terminals (Zeng and Yang, 2009) and the minimization of life-cycle costs for a single-family home (Hasan et al, 2008).…”

Optimum Design of Composite Structures: A Literature Survey (1969–2009)

“…In many of these studies, plain fiber-reinforced laminated composite plates were considered for optimization; besides, others types of composite structures were optimized: Structures reinforced with short or long fibers, 6,70,113,300,545,618,696,899,958 particulate fillers, 352,425,737,821 braided or woven fibers, 291,326,336,347,425,530,531,710,880,884,923,1006 or carbon nanotubes, 993 laminates with layers having variable fiber orientation, 149,173,219,243,247,271,311,325,355,359,446,564,633,709,720,730,732,771,787,796,797,814,831,877,885,900,906,910,951–954 or variable fiber density, 325,472,…”