Frequency optimization of laminated general quadrilateral and trapezoidal thin plates

This paper deals with frequency optimization of symmetrically laminated angle-ply general quadrilateral and trapezoidal thin plates. The objective function is to maximize the fundamental frequency of the quadrilateral and trapezoidal laminated plates and the fibre orientation is considered as design variable. The mathematical formulation is based on the classical laminated plate theory (CLPT) for the frequency analysis. The modified feasible direction (MFD) method is used as the optimization routine. Therefore, a program based on FORTRAN is used. Finally, the significant effects of aspect ratios, boundary conditions, taper ratios and unsymmetric trapezoidal plates on the optimal results are investigated and the results are compared. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.