Maximum buckling load of stiffened laminated composite panel by an improved hybrid PSO-GA optimization technique

A new strategy is proposed to find optimal fibers orientation of stiffened laminated composite panels to reach their maximum buckling load. To do so, buckling analysis of laminated stiffened composite panel is performed by using the ABAQUS software. A new hybrid algorithm based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA) is introduced for the optimization purpose. The conventional PSO method is improved by introducing a new inertia weight of velocity in the formulation. The validity of the proposed modeling technique is controlled by comparing the modeling results with that of experiment, and other previously published models and a satisfactory result has been achieved. Also, it has been found that the proposed optimization method has better performance than the existing methods, in terms of convergence speed and the accuracy of the algorithm. Moreover, the effects of shape of stiffeners, number of panel layers, curvature of panel, and boundary conditions on the optimal design are investigated.

Automated summary

A new strategy is proposed to optimize the fibers orientation of stiffened laminated composite panels to improve their buckling load. The proposed hybrid algorithm shows better performance in convergence speed and accuracy compared to existing methods. Factors affecting the optimal design such as stiffeners shape, number of panel layers, panel curvature, and boundary conditions are investigated.