Thermal buckling optimization of composite laminates by evolution strategies

Thermal buckling optimization of laminated composite plates subject to a temperature rise is presented in this paper. Aerospace structures require such components that are able to withstand the external environment loads without loss of stability. The discrete optimal design problem, formulated under strain and ply contiguity constraints is solved using evolution strategies, a guided random-search method. Two different constraint handling methods are investigated and compared: the disregarding infeasible solutions and the classical penalty function approach. The results are also compared with an exact enumerative study conducted on the problem, showing the effectiveness and performance of the proposed approach.