Stacking sequence optimization of laminated plate structures using the boundary element method

• Published in: Engineering analysis with boundary elements Vol. 127; pp. 113 - 127
• Main Authors: Ramos, Caio C.R., Daros, C.H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2021
• Subjects: Boundary element method; Composite laminates; Coupled stretching-bending analysis; Radial integration method; Stress recovery procedure; Structural optimization; Composite laminates; Radial integration method; Structural optimization; Coupled stretching-bending analysis; Boundary element method; Stress recovery procedure
• ISSN: 0955-7997; 1873-197X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enganabound.2021.03.017

•We obtain a pure Boundary Element Method for assembled laminated plate structures with unsymmetric stacking sequences.•BEM shows a steadier convergence than FEM in evaluating stresses, justifying its use in optimization processes.•Unsymmetric laminates behave substantially better than symmetric laminates in some optimization problems. In the present paper, we implement a pure boundary element method for the static analysis of 2D and 3D structures composed of thin, unsymmetric laminated composite plates. The domain integrals related to distributed loads are transformed into boundary integrals using the radial integration method. Furthermore, we apply an equilibrium-based procedure to directly recover the out-of-plane stress state from the classical laminated plate theory. Some benchmark examples verify the accuracy and efficiency of the present formulation, highlighting its steady convergence in regions of stress concentration near holes with sharp corners. To exploit the computational performance of the resulting boundary element code, we use the resulting code as the analysis step of an optimization scheme, taking fiber orientation angles as design variables.