Optimization of laminated tubes using finite element analysis

Abstract

This work presents a methodology for minimum weight design of laminated composite tubes. The design variables are the number of plies and the thickness and fiber orientation of each ply.The formulation includes stress and stability constraints. Multiple loading cases can be considered. A highly efficient axi-symmetric finite element formulation was developed and implemented for structural analysis. The stresses in the material system are used to compute the safety factor of the laminate using an appropriate failure criterion. The design optimization is performed using a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm. The proposed methodology is successfully applied to the design optimization of laminated composite tubes subjected to internal and external pressure, axial load and torsion. Several application examples are presented.