Composite Structures 62 (2003) 123–128

www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

A technique for the multiobjective optimisation

of laminated composite structures using genetic algorithms
and finite element analysis
M. Walker *, R.E. Smith
Centre for Advanced Materials, Design and Manufacture Research, Durban Institute of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa

Abstract
A methodology for using genetic algorithms with the finite element method to minimise a weighted sum of the mass and de-
flection of fibre reinforced structures with several design variables is described. The design constraint implemented is based on the
Tsai–Wu failure criterion. Symmetrically laminated composite rectangular plates with eight layers are used to demonstrate the
technique. Thus, the four fibre orientations and laminae thicknesses are to be determined optimally by defining a design index
comprising a weighted average of the objective functions and determining the minimum. In addition, the fibre orientations and layer
thicknesses must be selected from a set of discrete values. Results are presented for different load distributions, and various com-
binations of clamped, simply supported and free boundary conditions. The effect of aspect ratio on the results is also investigated.
Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction bending–twisting coupling which may cause significantly

An advantage of using fibre-reinforced composites
over conventional materials is that they can be tailored
to the requirements of a certain application. Thus, for
example, by using the ply angles as design variables, and
determining the optimal values to maximise or minimise
criterion like strength or mass, the most benefit can be
obtained from these materials. Due to manufacturing
constraints, the sets of values from which the ply angles
and layer thicknesses can be selected are generally dis-
crete, and in such cases, the optimisation problem be-
comes one of finding the best permutation of these.
An important failure mode for laminated structures is
bending under transverse loading. By selecting the op-
timal stacking sequence and layer thicknesses, the
weight and deflection of a structure can be minimised
for a given design strength constraint. Symmetrically
laminated angle-ply configurations are often used as
they avoid bending–stretching effects by virtue of mid-
plane symmetry, but a phenomenon associated with
symmetric angle-ply configurations is the occurrence of
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +27-31-204-2111; fax: +27-31-204-
3405.
E-mail address: walker@dit.ac.za (M. Walker).
0263-8223/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0263-8223(03)00098-9
different results as compared to cases in which this
coupling is exactly zero [1]. The effect of bending–
twisting coupling becomes even more pronounced when
few layers are used. Due to this coupling, closed-form
solutions cannot be obtained even for simple laminated
plates, and thus many studies involving design optimi-
sation of composite structures have neglected the effect.
This study adopts a numerical approach to include the
effect of bending–twisting coupling.
Design optimisation involving more than one objec-
tive can be handled by a multiobjective approach lead-
ing to designs which are balanced from an overall
strength viewpoint. Multiobjective optimisation of lam-
inated structures has been studied by various researchers.
For example, Adali et al. [2] presented the multiobjective
optimisation of laminated plates for maximum pre-
buckling, buckling and postbuckling strength. Kumar
and Tauchert [3] discussed the multiobjective design of
symmetrically laminated plates, while Adali et al. [4]
used a multiobjective approach to design laminated cy-
lindrical shells for maximum pressure and buckling
load. These papers show that compromise designs can
perform in a satisfactory manner under different loading
conditions.
A few studies concerning the design of composite
structures for minimum weight and deflection appear
124 M. Walker, R.E. Smith / Composite Structures 62 (2003) 123–128
in the literature. Walker et al. [5] carried out an opti-
misation design study of laminated plates with the ob-
jective of minimising the deflection and weight, using
finite element analysis and the Golden Section method,
but this was limited to only two design variables, viz.
fibre orientation and layer thickness. Adali et al. [6] in-
vestigated the minimum weight and deflection design of
thick sandwich laminates via symbolic computation.
Genetic algorithms can be used to find the global
solution of discrete optimisation problems and simulate
the mechanics of natural genetics for artificial systems
based on operations which are the counterparts of the
natural type [7]. They use techniques derived from na-
ture, and rely on DarwinÕs principle of survival of the
fittest. When a population of biological species evolves
over generations, characteristics that are useful for sur-
vival tend to be passed on to future generations, because
individuals carrying them get more chances to breed.
Individual characteristics in biological populations are
stored in chromosomal strings. The mechanics of natu-
ral genetics are based on operations that results in
structural yet randomised exchange of genetic informa-
tion between the chromosomal strings of reproducing
parents, and consist of crossover and occasional muta-
tion of the chromosomal strings. The reader is referred
to [7] for further discussion of the standard genetic op-
erators and theoretical properties of GAs.
Various authors have investigated the use of GAs for
optimising composite structures. A minimum thickness
design for plates with discrete ply angles subject to
strength and buckling constraints was considered in the
study by Kogiso et al. [8], where a genetic algorithm
search technique was used to achieve the optimal design.
Tabakov [9] looked at multidimensional design optimi-
sation of laminated structures, while Sivakumar [10] re-
searched the optimum design of laminated composite
plates with cutouts. Other studies include that by Byon
[11], who optimised hybrid thick-walled cylindrical shells
under external pressure, and Nagendra [12], who used a
GA to design stiffened composite panels. Soremekun
et al. [13] used genetic algorithms to blend the stacking
sequence of multiple composite laminates whilst Park
et al. [14] investigated the stacking sequence design of
composite laminates for maximum strength using genetic
algorithms. Chen and Karunaratne [15] optimised the
stacking sequence design of composite laminates using
genetic algorithms whereas Sadagopan and Pitchumani
[16] discussed the application of genetic algorithms to the
optimal tailoring of composite materials.
Some researchers have reported the use of genetic
algorithms to find the minimum weight of a structure.
For example, Walker and Wilson [17] combined the
finite element method with a GA to optimise laminated
structures for maximum rigidity and minimum weight.
A few researchers have combined multiobjective de-
sign with genetic algorithms. Crossley et al. [18] used a
two-branch tournament genetic algorithm for multiob-
jective design, while Obayashi et al. [19] used a multi-
objective genetic algorithm for the multidisciplinary
design of a transonic wing planform. Rudenko et al. [20]
used a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm for car
front end design and Coello Coello et al. [21] used a new
GA-based multiobjective optimisation technique for the
design of robot arms. However, the use of GAs together
with a multiobjective approach and the FEM for the
design optimisation of composite structures does not
appear to have been reported on in the literature.
A technique for using GAs together with finite ele-
ment analysis to minimise both the mass and deflection
of fibre reinforced symmetrically laminated structures
with several discrete design variables is described. The
design constraint implemented is based on the Tsai–Wu
failure criterion, although any suitable failure criterion
can be implemented. Rectangular plates are used to dem-
onstrate the method, have eight layers, and are symmetric
about the midplane. Thus, the four fibre orientations
and laminae thicknesses are to be determined optimally.
To determine the best configuration, optimal ply angles
for each layer are selected from amongst a predefined set
of fibre orientations, commonly used in industry. This
approach leads to cost-effective designs by virtue of
allowing the use of standard composite plies. The most
common orientations are 0°, ±30°, ±45°, ±60° and 90°
which are the ones used in the present study. Also, the
laminae thicknesses must be multiples of a standard ply,
thickness; eg. 0.001 m.
Results are presented for different load distributions,
and various combinations of clamped, simply supported
and free boundary conditions are considered. The effect
of aspect ratio is also investigated. The weighted sum of
both the mass and deflection of the structure was taken
as the GA fitness parameter. By using a multiobjective
approach, the weighting can be modified to suit the
designers requirements. The results presented are for an
equally weighted mass and deflection. Previous work on
discrete optimisation of composite laminates can be
found in [22–24].
2. Bending of rectangular laminates
Consider a symmetrically laminated rectangular plate
of length a, width b and thickness h under a transverse
bending load qðx; yÞ, as shown in Fig. 1. The plate is
located in the x, y, z plane and constructed of an arbi-
trary number K of orthotropic layers of thickness hk and
fibre orientation hk where k ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; K. The displace-
ment of a point (x0 , y 0 , z0 ) on the reference surface is
denoted by (u0 , v0 , w0 ).
The governing equation for the deflection w in the z
direction under a transverse load q is given by [25]:
 M. Walker, R.E. Smith / Composite Structures 62 (2003) 123–128 125

Fig. 1. Geometry and loading of the plate.

n oT
D11 w;xxxx þ4D16 w;xxxy þ2ðD12 þ 2D66 Þw;xxyy ðjÞ ðjÞ
u ¼ uðjÞ ; vðjÞ ; wðjÞ ; /1 ; /2 ð5Þ
þ 4D26 w;xyyy þD22 w;yyyy ¼ q ð1Þ
The displacements fu; v; w; /1 ; /2 g are approximated as
where variables after the comma denote differentiation Xn X
n X
n
with respect to that variable, and u¼ uj wj ðx; yÞ; v ¼ vj wj ðx; yÞ; w ¼ wj wj ðx; yÞ
Z h=2 j¼1 j¼1 j¼1
ðkÞ
Dij ¼ Qij z2 dz ð2Þ X
n X
n

h=2 /1 ¼ Sj1 wj ðx; yÞ; /2 ¼ Sj2 wj ðx; yÞ

j¼1 j¼1
ðkÞ
are the bending stiffnesses and Qij are components of ð6Þ
the transformed reduced stiffness matrix for the kth
layer. where wj are Lagrange family of interpolation functions.
As no simplifications are assumed on the elements of From the equilibrium equations of the first-order the-
the ½D matrix, Eq. (1) includes bending–twisting cou- ory, and Eq. (6), we obtain the finite element model of
pling as exhibited by virtue of D16 6¼ 0, D26 6¼ 0. the first-order theory,
X
5 X
n
Kijab Dbj
Fia ¼ 0 ða ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; 5Þ ð7Þ
b¼1 j¼1
3. Finite element formulation
or
We now consider a finite element formulation [26] of ½KfDg
fF g ¼ f0g ð8Þ
the problem (based on Mindlin type theory, although
where K and F are the stiffness and force coefficients
any suitable formulation can be substituted). Let the
respectively, and the variable D denotes the nodal values
region S of the plate be divided into n sub-regions Sr
of w and its derivatives.
ðSr 2 S; r ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; nÞ such that
X
n
PðuÞ ¼ PSr ðuÞ ð3Þ 4. Genetic algorithms
r¼1

where P and PSr are potential energies of the plate and
the element, respectively, and u is the displacement
vector. Using the same shape functions associated with
node j ðj ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; nÞ, Sj ðx; yÞ, for interpolating the
variables in each element, we can write
X
n
u¼ Sj ðx; yÞuj
j¼1
where uj is the value of the displacement vector corre-
sponding to node j, and is given by
Many optimisation problems, particularly those
complex in nature, can be difficult to solve using con-
ventional optimisation techniques. Simulating the nat-
ural evolutionary process of nature results in stochastic
optimisation techniques called evolutionary algorithms
which can outperform conventional methods in many
cases. In its standard form, application of a GA to a
ð4Þ
stacking sequence optimisation problem requires the
representation of the stacking sequence in terms of bit
strings that are counterparts of natural chromosomes,
made up of a string of genes (viz. the design variables;
126 M. Walker, R.E. Smith / Composite Structures 62 (2003) 123–128

e.g. ply orientation or thickness). The term fitness is used D

Pmin  min½P ðhi ; ti Þ; hi 2 ð0°; 30°; 45°; 60°; 90°Þ;
to designate the chromosomeÕs chances of survival. h;t

Genetic algorithms start with an initial set of random i ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; K ð9Þ

solution chromosomes called parents, which form a
population. The value of P is normalised by introducing the fol-
lowing non-dimensionalised quantities:
4.1. Genetic operators W  ¼ W =W0 ; w ¼ w=w0 ð10Þ
for mass and deflection. In Eq. (10) the subscript Ô0Õ
Basic operators used to create successive improved denotes the values of W and w for a ½0°k0:000758 lam-
populations include selection, crossover, mutation, and inate.
interchange. Typically, two designs selected from a Thus
population are mated to create child designs. In order to
ensure that good designs propagate to the child popu- P ðhi ; ti Þ ¼ l1 W  þ l2 w ð11Þ
lations, a higher chance to be selected as parents is given with l1 ; l2 P 0, l1 þ l2 ¼ 1. As the weighting factors li
to those designs that are better (viz. have a higher fit- are varied, the emphasis of the optimisation is shifted
ness) than the rest of the population. Selection is the among various objectives resulting in compromise so-
part of the algorithm that provides better opportunity to lutions. The single objective designs can be obtained as
good designs by implementing, for example, a roulette special cases by setting l1 ¼ 1, l2 ¼ 0, etc. The thickness
wheel which is divided into slices representing different of each layer must be a multiple of a minimum feasible
designs. Those designs with better characteristics are dimension. For example, if a standard ply thickness is
given a proportionally larger slice of the wheel. When 0.001 m, then each individual layer should have thick-
the wheel is spun (simulated by using a random number ness 0:001k, where k 2 Z (and Z 6¼ 0).
generator between 0 and 1, where the circumference of Here, the mass and deflection is determined from the
the wheel is normalized to be 1), those designs that oc- finite element solution of the problem given by (8), and
cupy larger slices of the wheel have a better chance to be is used to determine the value of the fitness parameter by
chosen as parent designs. the GA. In this study, the Tsai–Wu failure criterion [27]
When maximizing the fitness, this is ideal but mini- is used which stipulates that the condition for non-fail-
misation requires inversion of the fitness parameter. ure for any particular ply is
Crossover operator. Once a pair of parents are se- ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ
lected, the mating of the pair also involves a random F ðhÞ ¼ F11 r1 r1 þ F22 r2 r2 þ F66 s12 s12
process called crossover. For example, by splicing to- ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ
þ 2F12 r1 r2 þ F1 r1 þ F2 r2 6 1
ðkÞ
ð12Þ
gether the left part of the string of one parent with the
right part of the string of the other parent (ensuring to where the strength parameters F11 , F22 , F66 , F12 , F1 and F2
keep the orientations and thicknesses separate), two are given by
child strings are generated. F11 ¼ 1=ðXt Xc Þ; F22 ¼ 1=ðYt Yc Þ; F66 ¼ 1=G2 ð13Þ
Mutation operator. Mutation is implemented by
changing, at random and with small probability, the F1 ¼ 1=Xt
1=Xc ; F2 ¼ 1=Yt
1=Yc ;
value of a gene and serves the purposes of avoiding 1 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
premature loss of diversity in the designs. Since inferior F12 ¼
F11 F22 ð14Þ
2
designs may have some good traits that can get lost in
and Xt , Xc , Yt , Yc are the tensile and compressive
the gene pool when these designs are not selected as
strengths of the composite material in the fibre and
parents, by introducing occasional mutations, different
transverse directions, and G is the in-plane shear
portions of the design space can be investigated for
strength.
valuable information.

6. Numerical results and discussion

5. Optimal design problem
The objective of the design problem is to minimise a
weighted sum, P , of the mass W and deflection w of the
laminated structure, subject to a failure criterion. The
minimum value of P is achieved by optimally determin-
ing the fibre orientations and the laminae thicknesses,
given by ½h1 =h2 =    =hi kt1 =t2 =    =ti sym . Thus, the design
problem may thus be stated as
Numerical results are given for a typical T300/5208
graphite/epoxy material [28] with E1 ¼ 181 GPa, E2 ¼
10:3 GPa, G12 ¼ 7:17 GPa and m12 ¼ 0:28, Xt ¼ 1500
MPa, Xc ¼ 1500 MPa, Yt ¼ 40 MPa, Yc ¼ 246 MPa and
S ¼ 68 MPa. The symmetric plate is constructed of eight
layers, viz. ½h1 =h2 =h3 =h4 kt1 =t2 =t3 =t4 sym , and is subjected
to a uniformly distributed load (UDL) over the entire
surface: As already mentioned, the set of fibre orienta-
 M. Walker, R.E. Smith / Composite Structures 62 (2003) 123–128 127

Table 1
Effect of boundary conditions on the optimal layup for plates with a=b ¼ 1, UDL ¼ 100 kPa and P ¼ 0:5W  þ 0:5w
Boundary condition Layup (thickness values in mm) W (kg) F w (m)
(F,S,F,S) ð0°=0°=0°=0°k1=1=1=1Þs 12.8 1 0.174
(F,S,C,S) ð0°=90°=0°=90°k2:25=2:25=1:5=0:75Þs 21.6 0.99 0.053
(S,S,S,S) ð45°=
45°=45°=
45°k0:75=1:5=1:5=0:75Þs 14.4 1 0.069
(C,S,C,S) ð90°=90°=0°=0°k1=1=0:75=0:75Þs 11.2 0.97 0.058
(C,C,C,C) ð0°=90°=0°=90°k0:75=2=0:75=0:75Þs 13.6 0.98 0.032

Table 2
Effect of aspect ratio on the optimal layup for (F,S,C,S) plates with UDL ¼ 100 kPa, P ¼ 0:5W  þ 0:5w
a=b Layup (thickness values in mm) W (kg) F w (m)
0.5 ð0°=0°=0°=0°k1=1=1=1Þs 6.4 0.90 0.011
0.75 ð0°=90°=0°=90°k1:25=1:25=1:25=1:25Þs 12 0.92 0.042
1.0 ð0°=90°=0°=90°k2:25=2:25=1:5=0:75Þs 21.6 0.99 0.053
1.5 ð60°=
60°=60°=
60°k2=2=2:25=2:25Þs 40.8 1 0.111
2 ð90°=60°=
45°=60°k2=2:25=2:25=2:25Þs 56 0.99 0.152

Table 3
Effect of load type on the optimal layup for square (F,S,C,S) plates, and load magnitude of 100 kPa, P ¼ 0:5W  þ 0:5w
a=b Load type Layup (thickness values in mm) W (kg) F w (m)
1 UDL ð0°=90°=0°=90°k2:25=2:25=1:5=0:75Þs 21.6 0.99 0.053
1 Patch ð0°=30°=
45°=90°k0:75=0:75=1:25=1:75Þs 12 0.67 0.028
2 UDL ð90°=90°=0°=0°k2:25=2:25=2:25=2:25Þs 57.6 1 0.157
2 Patch ð0°=30°=
60°=45°k1:25=1:25=1=0:75Þs 27.2 0.96 0.065

tions available to be used here is (0°, ±30°, ±45°, ±60°,
90°), while the set of layer thicknesses is (0.00075, 0.001,
0.00125, 0.0015, 0.00175, 0.0025, 0.00225 m), leading to
a total of 84 74 ¼ 9834496 possible design candidates
(chromosomes). For expedience, the thickness values
will be discussed in terms of their millimeter equivalents;
viz. 0.00225 m will be reported as 2.25. Different com-
binations of free (F), simply supported (S) and clamped
(C) boundary conditions are implemented at the four
edges of the plate. In particular, five different combi-
nations are studied, namely, (F,S,F,S), (F,S,C,S),
(S,S,S,S), (C,S,C,S) and (C,C,C,C), where the first letter
refers to the first plate edge, and the others follow in the
anti-clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 1.
Table 1 shows the influence of the boundary condi-
tions on the optimal design of a plate with a=b ¼ 1 (viz.
each side is 1 m long) and with an applied uniformly
distributed load of 100 kPa. Note that F is the value of
the Tsai–Wu failure index for each design and that
candidates with failure indices greater than one are
discarded. Generally, one might expect that as the de-
grees of freedom are increased, so the mass should in-
crease, but this is not true for the (C,S,C,S) and
(F,S,C,S) plates, owing to the minimal number of vari-
ables (and thus appropriate combinations that lead to a
low mass) available.
Table 2 shows the influence of the aspect ratio on the
optimal layup and thickness for (F,S,C,S) plates with
the same loading as before. The design index, P , uses an
equal weighting for both mass and deflection (i.e.
l1 ¼ l2 ¼ 0:5). As expected, as the aspect ratio in-
creases, so the mass increases. The most interesting re-
sult is that for the smallest plate, where almost any
arrangement of fibre angles would suffice when used
with the choice of layer thicknesses shown, without
failure occurring. The combination shown in the table
yields the least F .
Table 3 shows the effect of a patch load (which covers
only a quarter of the surface) for (F,S,C,S) plates with
a=b ¼ 1 and a=b ¼ 2. The design index is again formu-
lated with an equal weighting for both mass and de-
flection (i.e. l1 ¼ l2 ¼ 0:5). As can be seen, the mass of
the plates with patch loads (viz. with 1/4 of the total load
of the UDL plates) is about half that of the UDL plates.
7. Conclusion
A technique for combining genetic algorithms with
the finite element method to minimise both the mass and
deflection, using a multiobjective approach, of fibre re-
inforced structures with several design variables is
described in this paper. The design constraint imple-
mented is based on the Tsai–Wu failure criterion, al-
though any suitable one can be substituted. This study
adopts a numerical approach to include the effects of
128 M. Walker, R.E. Smith / Composite Structures 62 (2003) 123–128
bending–twisting coupling, and the finite element for-
mulation used is based on Mindlin theory, although,
once again, any suitable formulation can be substituted.
Composite symmetrically laminated rectangular plates
with eight layers are used to demonstrate the technique.
Thus, the four fibre orientations and laminae thicknesses
are determined optimally. In addition, the fibre orien-
tations and layer thicknesses are selected from a set of
discrete (and commercially available) values. Results are
presented for different load distributions, and various
combinations of clamped, simply supported and free
boundary conditions are considered. The effect of aspect
ratio is also investigated. The weighted sum of both the
mass and deflection of the structure is taken as the GA
fitness parameter. By using a multiobjective approach,
the weighting can be modified to suit the designerÕs re-
quirements. The results presented are for an equally
weighted mass and deflection.
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